


Wait, the worst is yet to come.

by Bianca9013



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Crushes, Humor, M/M, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:49:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 38,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4624251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bianca9013/pseuds/Bianca9013
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ian and Mickey just need to find out what they feel for each other ... on their own.<br/>AU where the Gallagher family are the ones that terrorize the neighborhood, the ones that sell drugs and guns. The Gallagher siblings are the ones that everyone is scared of. The Milkovich family try their best to make ends meet, they all work multiple jobs so they can bring money in the house, they are all hard workers and they support and love each other no matter what.<br/>I suck at summaries. sorry</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. – Meet the family –

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm gonna say it now so please read it!! This is an AU where the Gallagher family is all bad news and everyone is scared of them and the Milkoviches are the ones that work multiple jobs to support the family. it's the other way arround from the show. i hope I'm explaining this ok cause I suck at this.  
> So, not everything that happens in the show is going to happen here. I'm not sure yet where this is going but I am sure it's not going to be the same as the show. Some things I'll change, some not. But the main thing is that Ian is the thug and Mickey the sweet innocent guy. some things will be similar. Also, they are both the same age, 16 and Mandy is 15. I want it to be this way. Also at some point there is going to be a character death or 2 but I'm not sure yet who. I'm gonna write about the others as well but this is mainly focused on Ian and Mickey (duuuh). Also i do not write smut, I suck badly at that. I'm gonna write some stuff but not a lot cause well, i suck. sorry if that's not ok then don't read :D. the timeline isn't going to be like in the show, I'm creating my own timeline so don't go screaming if you notice that something isn't in the corect order. ok I hope I didn't forget something. Enjoy, I guess. Oh yeah and excuse my english, it may suck sometimes.

Chapter 1 – Meet the family –

The Milkovich siblings were well known throughout the South Side of Chicago. They were known for their hard work, their loyalty for one another and of course for their father, **Terry** , the neighborhood drunk and waste of space and air. He was, like most people would like to say, another air and space stealing son of a bitch. He didn’t really care what happened to his children, he didn’t care that they had to bust their asses working multiple jobs so they wouldn’t lose the house, so they would have heat and food and water. He didn’t care when one of them got sick, or when one of them couldn’t go to school because they worked a late shift the night before and were too exhausted to get up in the morning. No, all that mattered was that he has a roof over his head, food inside his belly and 6 reasons to complain that his life isn’t perfect. Yes, because that’s what they were to him, 6 souls that couldn’t do anything right. They never had enough money to give him when he wanted to buy alcohol or drugs. What a bunch of useless kids. What kind of ungrateful sons of bitches where they? Huh? Not give him money for what it was truly important! Terry was a tall man, he could take a punch when needed (which was a lot) and he could deliver one too. He was strong, everyone admitted it, but that didn’t stop people from wanting to punch him in the face. He was always at The Alibi, the bar from his neighborhood. You could say it was more of a home than his own house.

  
**Jamie and Tony Milkovich** were the oldest of the bunch. They worked 3 jobs each so they could afford to bring some amount of cash in the house. They were protective towards the other siblings, they would always kick Terry out of the house when he was too drunk to even find his own bed. They were the go to guys when you needed anything fixed around the house, so that was another thing they would do to get some extra cash. They would help around the neighborhood, when people needed help, of course. They never finished high school, none of them did, well the last 2 siblings were still in high school and they plan on keeping them there until they finish. God knows there needs to be at least a few of them who could get out of this God damned neighborhood.

  
**Colin** was almost never home, he worked from morning till night and he usually slept at his girlfriend. But he always contributed with his share of the money even though the others usually said he didn’t have to bring money if he basically didn’t live here anymore. But he insisted and hey, they weren’t going to turn down some extra money.

 **Iggy** was a great guy. Very hard working and loyal, he had a lot of friends who would back him up if he needed any help because he was always helping other people. He was a kind person and a loving brother. He loved his siblings very much, especially the younger one. They were his favorites. He looked like most of his brothers, they took after their dad. Except for the young ones, they looked like their mother. Iggy wasn’t a very tall man but he wasn’t short either. He had 3 jobs to help support the family and he never complained when he was too sick to go to work, he still went. He was the responsible one. Everyone loved Iggy.

 **Mickey Milkovich** was something alright. He was smart, math was his strong point. He didn’t liked school all that much because he thought it was just a bunch of monkeys gathered around in a building. Well he wasn’t half wrong. But he stayed in school mainly because his older brothers said he should finish and do something with his life. Get out of this neighborhood. He didn’t look like his father at all, he wasn’t tall, he was quite small. But he wasn’t a skinny defenseless kid. He knew how to take care of himself pretty good. He also didn’t have the same hair color, his hair wasn’t a bright color, he had black hair and a pair of blue eyes you could spot from a mile away. He had a job, only one because school keeps him busy as it is. He didn’t have a lot of friends mainly because he liked to keep stuff to himself, but he did have his brothers and sister and that was enough for him.

  
**Mandy** was the only girl of the family. She was also the spoiled one, her brothers always spoiled her, well spoiled as in an extra piece of pizza at dinner or an extra burger not spoiled as in buying her a new phone every other month or a new pony. That was what spoiled meant in a family with tight cash. But she was happy, she really was. She loved her brothers very much and she would rather die than see any of them suffer. She also had a job, at a dinner. It wasn’t the best but the money was good and she felt great she could finally pitch in for the house fund. Being the youngest one she couldn’t get jobs all that easily but now that she was old enough she didn’t waste another minute before she went and got herself that job. She was the spitting image of their mother, as they would all say; she had long black hair and beautiful blue eyes, just like her brother Mickey. She was very skinny and very pretty according to some boys from the neighborhood. The girls hated her mostly because she was such a hard working girl and she could still keep her social life. 

Their mother wasn’t in the picture anymore. She left a few years ago, never looked back. They stopped talking about her because it would upset Mandy and they didn’t like to see her cry. After a few years they got used to not talking about her so they started to forget about her. It was better this way.  
So they weren’t a rich family, they weren’t all lawyers and doctors and they didn’t have the biggest house, so what? The only thing that mattered to them is that they had each other. They were happy because of that.

 

* * *

 

 

A few blocks away from the Milkovich family lived the Gallagher family. They were also 6 siblings living with their deadbeat father. But the only difference was that they weren’t as responsible as the other family, no, they were quite the opposite. They were all a bunch of lazy ass children that were well known for their drug dealing, gun dealing and many other illegal stuff that happened around the neighborhood. They didn’t have jobs, no, they liked to take their money the “easy” way not the honest way. They would steal it from various places like the neighborhood supermarket, the Kash and Grab, or other supermarkets from other neighborhoods. They would sell drugs to anyone willing to buy, didn’t matter what age. If you were looking to buy an illegal gun, they were the people you were looking for.

  
Their father, **Frank** , was the worst man you could ever meet. He was a heavy drinker, he took pleasure in pistol-whipping his own children when he considered they weren’t doing their job properly. He didn’t care that they weren’t going to school when they should have. He didn’t care that some of them were still too young to be involved in this sort of things. No, if they wanted food they had to contribute.

  
**Fiona** was the oldest of the siblings, she was well known for her not so ladylike behavior and for the fact that she slept with more than half of the neighborhood, well that’s what people are saying, who knows if it’s true. She was pretty though, she was slim and tall, beautiful eyes and long brown hair. She knew how to defend herself when it was needed. Nobody took advantage of her because they knew pretty well who she was and who her brothers were. She quit high school a few years ago and she doesn’t have a job. She hates working but loves wasting time. She had once a job, for about a day until the manager found her stealing from the cash register and she got fired the same day. After that she said she would never work for anyone ever again. How unfair, how can he fire her for stealing? That was uncalled for. That bastard.

  
**Phillip “Lip” Gallagher** was the most annoying person anyone could meet. He was always looking for trouble, for a fight even when you just happened to cross paths with him. If he thought you were looking funny at him you would, most likely, get a good beating just so you remember to not mess with the Gallaghers. He had curly brown hair, big blue eyes and a cocky smile. He wasn’t very tall but he wasn’t short either. He liked to believe he could get any girl he wanted. The fact that the girl said no wasn’t a problem for him. He got along with his siblings, mostly because they were all kind of obnoxious.

  
**Ian** was something else, he was self-absorbed, mean and annoying, like his older brother. He would always beat little kids just for the fun of it. He was still in high school but barely went. Learning was definitely not his thing. His thing was being mean and just plain intolerable. He had bright red hair and bright green eyes. He was tall and very muscular. He knew he was a handsome boy and he liked all the attention he was getting from all of the girls …and a few boys. He knew from a very you age that he was gay but he never told anyone, not even his siblings, he knew very well that if his father would find out he would be a dead man. Sure he hooked up with a few girls just so people wouldn’t start talking but he sure as hell didn’t enjoy it. But nobody needed to know that. He always thought that he could live like this, in secret, his rough exterior could hide it very well. He never thought he would meet a guy he would like more than he should anyway, he wasn’t the relationship type.

  
**Debbie** was the nicest of them all. She wasn’t as annoying and she actually liked going to school. She was smart. She had red hair, just like Ian, she wasn’t very tall but she was just the right height for her young age. She was still in middle school anyways, she had time to grow. Her dad wouldn’t bother her all that much to help around with the drugs. He says that she is too soft for this kind of things. She was glad she was left alone most of the time. She would baby-sit for some neighbors so she would have some pocket money since her brothers wouldn’t give her when she needed. You could say she was the most responsible one. She had to be.

  
**Carl** was, as his siblings would say, the one that will most likely be killed by the time he is 18. He didn’t care that his family thought that about him, he really didn’t. He was a weird kid, always doing all sorts of weird stuff, like melting his plastic toys in all the places he could find that could melt things. He would set classrooms on fire. He got suspended oh so many times. He knew very well he would end up in juvie in a few years. He knew what people thought about him, that he wasn’t going to get out of this shithole. If that’s what people thought about him why should he try harder to prove them wrong? Why bother? At least this way he could do whatever the fuck he wanted. He looked like a normal kid, short brown hair and a cute smile. He would usually accompany his brothers when they went to steal the local stores, so he could learn the family business. 

 **Liam** was the last of the bunch, granted, he was only 2 years old and he didn’t do much other that sleep, eat, poop, repeat. Debbie was the one who took care of him, sometimes Fiona would help but not that much. Even though they all complained about him they all still loved him because he was family. Even though they would never admit it they all cared for each other, very much. They would always stand up for one another because family is family and that was that.

Their mother, **Monica** died a year ago from a drug overdose. They didn’t seem to mind it though. Never talked about her anymore. They just stopped saying her name one day and after that it was like she never even existed.


	2. – Smoking, smirks and hidden agendas –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey Milkovich decided that today was going to be a great day. Yes, he knew it from the moment he opened his eyes at 6 a.m. nothing was going to bring him down today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the 2nd chapter but actually it's the first because in the first one i just talked a little about the characters. yeah, I hope everyone gets it. Enjoy and excuse my english.

**Chapter 2 – Smoking, smirks and hidden agendas –**

 

Mickey Milkovich decided that today was going to be a great day. Yes, he knew it from the moment he opened his eyes at 6 a.m. nothing was going to bring him down today. He was ready for school, he was going to ace his math test. Math was easy for him, he loved it, he understood it. He hated English though. Miss Barnes wasn’t the best teacher there could be. She lacked the skills that make a teacher great. But today was going to be great. He got up, took a shower, ate something and he was out. Mandy was talking a lot, as usual, but he decided to listen today because he was in such a good mood.

“So, as I was saying, I started hanging out with Ian a lot these past couple of weeks” she said smiling and looking at her brother to see his reaction.

“That’s great Mands…. Wait, who?” he asked. Maybe she was talking about another Ian. There was no way she was talking about who he thought she was.

“Ian, Ian Gallagher” fuck ….

“Mandy are you fucking crazy? Ian Fucking Gallagher? Out of all the fucked up people in this neighborhood you chose to hang out with the king of the fucked up children?” he practically screamed all the questions, he didn’t care that people were starring.

“Calm down fucker, he’s not so bad after you get to know him. He’s actually a cool guy.” She said so calm that Mickey thought she was going mental. How can she be so calm about this? That family terrorized Mickey since he was 5 years old.

“Calm down? Calm down? How did you even thought it was a good idea to start talking to that bastard? He was starting to get really mad by now.

“Well it’s a long story, not going into details, but he isn’t that bad. You can hang out with us and see for yourself” yeah, like that would happen.

“No fucking way, you hear me? And you should stop seeing him too. What, are you fucking him or something?” he asked the last part a bit curiously.

“What? No. Jesus, why do you always think I wanna sleep with a guy I hang out with? No, he’s just my friend. That’s it” Well, truth was she did have that intention at first but after a while Ian packet up the courage and told her he was gay. She didn’t know why he felt he could trust her but he did. She didn’t ask any more questions, she just asked him if he would like to go hang out in the park and smoke some weed. Since then they started spending more time together. She liked him, a lot. If you got past the rough exterior he displayed he was a really nice guy. He was a really hot guy as well. Why were all the hot ones gay? She would never know.

“Well it’s not like it didn’t happen before. Besides, how can he not be interested in you? You are a very pretty girl Mandy”

“Believe me, he isn’t interested in me that way”

“Yeah sure, believe what you want but don’t come crying to me after he fucks you and never talks to you again”

Mickey was so adorable when he was angry, that’s what Mandy always thought. If she thinks about it he and Ian could make a cute couple, if only Mickey admitted he was gay. I mean it was so obvious. Mandy had known for a long time that her brother was gay, she never asked him but she knew. He will tell her when he is ready.  

“I’m not going to argue with you about this anymore. If you want to hang out with us good, if not, don’t. I have English now, I have to go” she said and entered the class next to him. They were talking and arguing the all the way here and Mickey didn’t even notice they arrived to their destination.

He was casually walking down the school halls when he saw a glance of a pair of boys, one with red hair and one with brown hair. They were swaggering down the halls like they own the damn place. How can his sister be friends with that clown? Ian walked past Mickey and gave him an evil grin and then he …. Winked?? Did he just wink at him? Really? What a douchebag. Mickey just shook his head and the pair of brothers started laughing as they kept walking. God he hated that family. It looks like this day isn’t going to be as good as he thought.

 

* * *

 

 

Ian Gallagher woke up with a bad mood. He already hated this day and it was only 7 a.m. Well he hated most days so for him this was just another ordinary day, a boring ass ordinary day. He wasn’t hungry so he decided to skip breakfast and only had a cup of coffee, which was horrible by the way. He swears, Frank makes the worst coffee ever. He just drank it in silence, well as silent as it could get in this God damn house and after 15 minutes he just gave up and decided to go to school. Yes, he thought today was a good day to go to school.

“Hey man, where you going?” Lip asked as he sat down at the table the same time Ian tried to walk towards the door.

“I’m going to school today, see who I can beat for some money or some shit, wanna come?”

“Yeah man, why not. Got nothing better to do here anyways” so he got up, got his jacket and both boys were out the door before anyone could ask them where they were going.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Dude, I’ve been meaning to ask, why are you hanging out with the Milkovich bitch lately?” Lip asked as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs.

“Dunno, started hanging out a few weeks ago and I got used to it. She is pretty cool I guess” he said with a shrug. Why does he even care? He doesn’t ask him why he hangs with some people.

“Well ok then, just thought you two were banging or some shit” he looked at his brother as they were crossing the street. “Well…are you?”

“No man, we just friends. Don’t like her that way. We mostly just smoke weed in the park or behind the school. Occasionally we go at the movies when her friend can get us in for free” by the time he finished his sentence they arrived in front of the school. The road only takes a few minutes so there is no time for long conversations. People started to look funny at them, like how come they came to school, or they must be here to kill someone. They didn’t care, just swaggered along the halls and enjoyed the stares people were throwing their way. As they walked along, Ian caught sight of the Milkovich kid, Mickey. He saw that Mandy just entered in one of the class rooms leaving Mickey all to himself. When he was close to him he decided to give him an evil grin and as he walked past him he winked at the black haired boy and waited for his reaction. Of course the boy just shook his head and then both Gallaghers started laughing at him. Right then Ian decided that he would like to torture the poor boy more often. Maybe today was going to be a good day after all.

 

Mickey was sitting in silence in his history class when he heard someone arguing outside. He looked out the window and he saw the red head Gallagher fighting some freshman. Maybe he owed him money or something. They always owe him money. He just rolled his eyes and tried to concentrate on his lesson. He’s phone started to buzz in his pocket so he decided to look who it was. As it turns out it was Mandy who had texted to ask if he wanted to come to smoke some pot behind the gym after this class. He remembered he had health class next so he decided that smoking with his sister is way more educational than listening to some old rag talking about how important it is to have safe intercourse over and over again. I mean, who even uses the word intercourse anymore? He texted back a yes and with that he started paying attention in class again.

 

The bell rang letting everyone know that they finally have a few minutes of “peace” before they had to fry their brains again for the next hour. He casually started walking towards the gym ignoring a hate glare from Lip and he passed him on the hallway. He arrived 3 minutes later to see Mandy talking to someone. He couldn’t see who it was because the person was around the building corner. He just shrugged and walked closer.

“And here I thought you just invited me. It made me feel special Mandy, I now see that I am not” he said with a smile as he got closer. But now that he was closer he could see who the other person was and just like that his smile fell of off his face and into hell.

“Oh Mickey now why would you say you are not special?” the bastard had a grin bigger than the entire United States of America plastered on his freckled face. God why was he here?

“Oh man I didn’t know I was interrupting something, I should go” Mickey said and wanted to turn around but Mandy stopped him.

“Wait shit-face. You don’t have to go. I didn’t invite you here so you can turn around and leave. I remembered you had health class and how much you hate the old rag so Ian suggested I invite you too” as she finished saying that Mickey could see the cocky smile on the bastard’s face. He decided he hated that smile.

“Yeah? And when did he suggest that?” he asked as he remembered seeing him outside his window just seconds before Mandy sent the text. So he clearly wasn’t in the same place as her.

“Well he texted me to ask me if I wanted to hang out and I said that I was thinking about hanging with you and then he said I should invite you to hang with both of us and then I guess I sent you a text” she casually said in between puffs.

“Oh right, texting, you two do everything together now, don’t you?” he asked as he took the joint in his fingers and shot a glance in the red head’s direction.

“I thought you wouldn’t mind If I was here too, I mean, I don’t bite” Mickey didn’t thought Ian could be any more of a douche but the freckled boy sure proved him wrong with that sentence.

 

As they were sitting there, smoking, Mickey could sometimes feel the red head looking intensely at him, like he was trying really hard to make a hole in his forehead just with his stares. He decided to ignore the prick and just waited for Mandy to suggest that they should be going. After 30 minutes he decided he wouldn’t wait any longer and took the matter in his own hands.

“Well I’m off, I need to meet with Ned to give him some papers he lent me the other day.” He lied of course but he wasn’t going to take another second of Ian stares, he was getting really sick of it.

“Well I sure am sad to see you leave” Ian said with a fake smile and a fake sad voice. Mickey just smiled sarcastically.

“Yeah sure you are tough guy. Anyways, see you at home Mands. Later losers” he said and turned around before any of them could say anything. He was expecting Ian to yell and demand an explanation as to why he called him tough guy but the demand never came and he was relieved that he was out of there. Man this day was getting weirder and weirder by the second.


	3. - Shrimp and Firecrotch –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, he wasn’t proud of the things he did but he would rather be hated by the people in the neighborhood than be killed by his own father

**Chapter 3 – Shrimp and Firecrotch –**

 

After yesterday Mickey wasn’t so sure what Ian’s intentions were but he sure as hell didn’t trust the tall boy. Every time he looked at him while they were in the back smoking he could swear on all the Saints that he was planning something. Of course he didn’t know what that was but he was sure it was nothing good. Today was a Saturday so Mickey decided that until his shift at the Kash and Grab started he would watch some tv and eat some junk food, you know, the usual stuff. He got bored quickly and decided on taking a shower before he would get going. He took his time in the shower seeing as he still had enough time to get ready. After the shower he chose some clothes, decided that a white t-shirt was not a good idea after the incident last month, ugh only the memory of that day made him sick. He decided to put that memory away in his mind and maybe never remember it again. He settled for a blue shirt and a pair of plain black jeans. After a few more minutes he decided he should go. He lit a cigar after he closed the front door and he was on his way. On his way he saw the 3 young Gallagher kids, the boy, Carl, was trying to set an abandoned car wheel on fire and his sister Debbie, he thinks, was screaming at the little black baby who was eating dirt. Mickey just rolled his eyes at the little horror scene and passed them by not wanting to become part of the freak show. He got lost in his thoughts and before he knew he was at the supermarket. He finished his 2nd cigar, threw it on the ground and stepped on it then entered the store.

“You’re early. How come?” Kash asked as he put another box of Pringles on the shelf.

“Yeah well I had nothing better to do anyways so I said I would come in early.

“Fine, might as well start working if you are here, you can leave early then. Just don’t forget to stack the beers later when you are not so busy”

“Well I’m not busy now, I can do that now” he said as he began to walk towards the freezers. He saw the way Kash looked at him and he hated it. He knew the man was gay, he was always trying to get Mickey’s attention but Mickey didn’t care. He thought that he was a creepy old dude who liked to fuck teenage boys. For God’s sake, he was married and he had 2 kids. But that didn’t stop him from inviting young boys in the back of the store when his wife Linda wasn’t around. Did he really think Mickey wouldn’t notice? He wasn’t blind. But he didn’t say anything, he was afraid that if he brought it up to Kash he would propose they should do the same thing and Mickey wasn’t sure that he could stop himself from punching the douche if he proposed such a thing.

After what seemed like an eternity but in reality it was only 2 hours the little bell above the front door started to make a sound and the door swung open revealing a boy with a smirk, a very familiar boy with a smirk. God he hated that smirk. Nothing good could come from this.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Saturday morning was kind of boring for Ian. He was watching some tv in the living room while his dad was passed out on the ground. The 3 smaller children where God knows where and Fiona went with Lip to sell some guns Frank brought the other day. He was getting very bored with what was on the small screen so he decided to go and annoy some people. But not before he would pay Mandy a visit. He decided that what he was wearing was just fine so he just walked out of the house with a cigar in between his lips and a soda in his hand. The walk to the Milkovich house was short, just enough time to finish his cigar and drink his soda. He climbed the stairs and knocked on the door 2 times.

“What?” an annoyed Mandy opened the door. After she saw that it was Ian she gave a big smile and made a gesture that he could come in.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked not really carrying.

“Neah, just thought my brother Iggy forgot his keys again, he always does and it drives me crazy. Anyways, what brings you here?”

“Felt like I could use a smoke, got some good shit. Are you alone?”

“Yeah, dad’s at the Alibi, I think and all my brothers are at work. My shift only starts at 5. Come, we can sit in here” she gestured towards the couch.

“So Mickey’s at work too?” he really didn’t know why he asked that. He really didn’t care. Why would he ask that?

“Yeah, at the Kash and Grab, but I guess you knew that. Why ask?” she said raising an eyebrow

“Dunno, I just thought he was still avoiding me. I know he hates me.” He said as he was preparing the joint.

“Yeah well Mickey doesn’t like a lot of people. Don’t take it personal.” She said with a sweet smile. He knew she was just trying to make him feel better. But he was very aware that she didn’t need to do that. He knew it was personal, but he also understood why it was personal. Why wouldn’t it be? He tortured everyone in this hell hole and he knew it.

He often thought about it, about why he was the way he was. Because of his dad maybe? Could his dad be at fault here? Was he to blame? Or the poor judgments he made were to blame. It was just the way he was raised; to take from the weak and the strong as well, to not show any sign of weakness towards anybody and always to keep to himself. When he turned 15 his brother and some friends took him to a tattoo parlor and he got knuckle tattoos that read “FUCK U-UP”. One day he was walking with his father home when they saw 2 boys holding hands. When his father saw them he went crazy, yelling all sorts of slurs and calling them awful names. He then demanded Ian to beat on one of them, to hit him hard so he would get the faggot out of him. It was hard for him to do it but he had to because if his father would find out that he was also gay he would kill him then and there. Yes, he wasn’t proud of the things he did but he would rather be hated by the people in the neighborhood than be killed by his own father.

After a while he decided he would go around the neighborhood and see who he could torture. After saying goodbye to Mandy and exiting the house he remembered that a certain Milkovich kid was at work and he decided to pay him a visit. He didn’t know why he wanted to torture the kid, he just felt like it. A few minutes later he arrived at the store, he stood in front for 3 minutes to smoke a cigar and after he was done he threw it a few feet away and pulled the door open. He saw the blue eyed boy looking up from the cash register and he felt the need to smirk. He loved the way the young man tensed every time he saw him. This was going to be fun.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hello there Milkovich, how’s your day so far?” he didn’t even try to hide the sarcasm from his tone. The boy just rolled his eyes.

“What do you want Ian? You came here to steal again? You know Linda will have your ass if she finds out you are stealing again” he looked very annoyed and the red head loved that.

“Well shrimp, I was just here to see how you’ve been doing. I got the impression that I annoyed you yesterday. That hurt my feelings” he said and made a fake frown as he put his hand on his heart and pretended to be hurt.

“Ha, good one man. Seriously what do you want? You can either buy something or get the fuck out”

“Well, well, would you look at this? Shrimp here has some courage. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? That’s not a very nice word. Now I can see you are busy so I’m not going to waste any more of you precious time. Just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with me and Mandy tonight, at the park?” Why the hell did he just do that? What was wrong with him? Now the fool will think he want to be friends or something. Ian could be such a stupid fuck sometimes. But he played it cool, like he just did it for Mandy.

“Uhm I don’t know, I don’t think so but uhm I’ll think about it…I guess” Mickey said scratching the back of his head in wonder. Why was Ian inviting him to hang out again? What was his plan? He knew something was going on here, he just knew it.

“Anyways, I’ll leave you to it then, later shrimp” he said and turned towards the door when Mickey opened his mouth.

“Yeah see you firecrotch” What? Firecrotch? That’s the sound that came out of his mouth? What the hell was up with Mickey these past couple of days?

“You’d like to know if that’s true, wouldn’t ya?” Ian said without thinking it through. And to top it all up he winked at him and grinned. Well this was perfect. Why couldn’t he control his actions? Now Mickey will probably think he was gay. Well he was, but he sure as hell didn’t want Mickey Milkovich to know that, it would be the end of him. Before the small kid could say anything he bolted out the door and moved as fast as he could leaving an open mouthed Mickey in the store. Stupid, stupid Ian.   


	4. – Laughing, crying and punching –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So you’re saying that if you would tell your dad the truth he would really kill you? Like actually kill you?”

**Chapter 4 – Laughing, crying and punching –**

 

Mickey decided he wouldn’t go meet Mandy and Ian, not after that awkward thing that happened. What did Ian mean with that? Was he hitting on Mickey? He couldn’t be. Ian Gallagher was definitely not gay, no way. Maybe he was just making fun of him because let’s face it, that response was as stupid as it can get. Fire crotch? Jesus that sounded lame. But at the same time he liked calling him that. There is no denying that Ian was hot, Mickey could admit to that. But never in a million years would he admit that out loud. If Gallagher ever found out he was gay he would be a dead man. Everyone knew about that fag bash, when Ian and his dad beat the crap out of a gay kid from the neighborhood. The boy was in the hospital for 3 weeks. Of course he didn’t press charges because he was scared that the rest of the Gallagher family will come after him if they ended up in jail. By the time his thoughts came to an end Mickey was at his house. He entered and saw that no one was around. Mandy was probably with Ian and the rest were at work. A few minutes after he finally settled on the couch with a beer in his hand Iggy entered the house.   

“What up little bro? Where’s Mandy?” he asked as he threw his jacket on the chair next to the door.

“She’s out with the Gallagher douche, in the park I think” he said taking a sip from a beer. He saw the look his brother gave him and he waited for the response.

“Which Gallagher douche? Lip?”

“Neah, the other one, Ian, the red head” he explained in detail.

“Seriously? Ian? She’s hanging with that piece of trash? Why? She fucking him or something?”

“That’s the weird part, she isn’t. They just hang out and smoke weed. It’s pretty weird if you ask me”

“I’ll have a talk with her when she’s back home, I don’t like this shit one bit” and with that he closed the bathroom door behind him and after 2 minutes Mickey heard the shower turning on.

5 minutes later Jamie and Tony were back from work as well, both men really exhausted and hungry.

“Yo lil’ bro, is there any food left, we’re starving” Jamie said and Tony just stood there waiting for a response.

“Yeah man, there’s pasta on the stove, Mandy made it so it’s eatable. Just reheat it cause it should be cold by now.”

“So how was work bro?” Tony asked as he turned on the stove so the food would start heating.

“The usual, not so much clients, Kash being a creep like always, nothing new. How about you guys?”

“Well my boss though it was a good idea to add 2 more hours to my shift because why not? Tony doesn’t have a life! He can work 24/7 cause he’s a fucking robot” Tony said in a sarcastic tone. He really looked tired.

“Sorry man, did you try reasoning with him?”

“It’s like talking to a wall. No use, but hey, at least there will be a few bucks in addition so that’s not such a bad news” he said trying to look at the bright side.

“What about you Jamie? Any news?” Mickey asked

“Neah, all the same, pops showed up at the garage where I work, he wanted me to give him some money for drinks, said I didn’t have any. He just called me an ungrateful little bastard and left, he home?”

“Haven’t seen him since yesterday, have no clue where he is” Mickey said shrugging his shoulders.

“Maybe Mandy knows, where is she by the way?” Jamie asked after noticing she wasn’t present.

“With Ian in the park, smoking weed” Mickey responded casually

“Again? What’s up with her and that Gallagher trash? Are they together or something?”

“Neah, just friends apparently. It’s weird if you ask me but she says he’s cool and apparently very misunderstood” he said the last part and started laughing and his brothers joined in.

“What are you 3 laughing about?” asked a confused Iggy. He just opened the bathroom door still in his towel which was wrapped around his small waist.

“We were laughing at how Mandy thinks that the Gallagher kid is very misunderstood, the poor bastard” Tony said in between laughs. Iggy scuffed at the sound of that and went into his room to change into something more comfortable. The boys spent their evening talking about everything and about nothing.

 

* * *

 

 

“So you’re saying that if you would tell your dad the truth he would really kill you? Like actually kill you?” Mandy asked the freckled boy as she took another puff.

“Yeah man, you should hear him how he talks about gay people, like we’re the scum of the earth or some shit. I didn’t choose this so why should I be punished for it. It’s fucked up man”

“Yeah but if you’re so scared of him that means that as long as he’s alive you’re never going to be happy or free” she said and Ian looked at her and started laughing.

“Happy? What does that even mean? My brothers and sisters are straight but they aren’t happy. At least not as happy as other people are. Do you not see where we live? We are trash Mandy, it’s harsh but it’s the truth. No one will ever take us seriously” he said and got up from where he was standing on the bench.

“Yeah, I guess you are right. No one is truly happy around here” she admitted and looked at her feet.

“Anyways, I’m gonna cut this short cause I have to go home and deal with something. See you tomorrow at you place? He asked and smiled. He didn’t know why but he really liked hanging out with her, she wasn’t like the rest. She was genuine. He actually liked her.

“Yeah for sure. See you tomorrow Ian, good night” she kissed his cheek and smiled at the red head. He made a chuckle sound and turned around walking in towards his house.

He hated going back home after a few hours away from his dad. Those hours where the only peace and quiet he had and he treasured them. His dad made him feel like he was worthless unless he did as he was told. He couldn’t refuse the man because then he would kick his sorry ass. As he was approaching the house he could hear people screaming. He rushed to see what the fuss was about. As he entered the house a full on horror scene was slowly developing in his eyes. Fiona was screaming, Debbie was crying, Carl was nowhere in sight and Liam was crying his eyes out. Lip and Frank were in the kitchen arguing about something.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE? Ian yelled as loud as he could so they would hear him. The all turned towards him in surprise.

“What’s going on? This shit hole of a father took Carl with him on a sale and he lost him. He fucking lost a fucking kid. How can you lose a kid? I mean, something must have happened to him since he isn’t back. He’s old enough to know his way back home” Lip said and Ian could swear to God that the vein on Lip’s forehead would burst any second now.

“What the fuck Frank? How can you lose Carl? What if he’s hurt or worse, dead? Are you insane?” Ian thought he could cut Frank’s head right of his neck. How can he be so irresponsible? Everyone was arguing and throwing things when a small voice spoke from behind them.

“Uhm why is everyone shouting and crying?” everyone turned around to see Carl standing there, his hair and face dirty and without a jacket on. It was the middle of November so the air was pretty cold right now.

“Carl?!?!? Where were you dude? We were worried sick! We thought you were dead or something.” Lip said as Fiona ran towards the little boy to give him a blanket.

“Yeah well I was with dad on a drug run when he started to run because he saw someone. At first I wasn’t paying attention and I didn’t saw him right away and by the time I saw he was running he was too far away. I waited for about an hour, I thought maybe he would come back after me and seeing as we were pretty far away from the neighborhood I wasn’t in the mood to walk back here so I asked a random dude to take me home. He said sure but only if I go with him to get his stuff from his ex girlfriend. He said he still had a couch and a tv that he had to get. I said why not, if he is giving me a free ride I could help him out. When we got there his girlfriend wasn’t alone, she already had another boyfriend who threatened to kill him if he took the couch and tv so one thing led to another and before I know we are being thrown outside, face in the mud by that guy. The dude eventually stopped crying and he brought me home and now I’m standing here and telling you guys what happened” he finished and threw himself on the couch leaving all the Gallaghers with their mouths open.

“See, it wasn’t my fault. The kid wasn’t paying attention when I started running, he should have followed me. Stupid kid” Frank said as if none of this was his fault.

“Seriously? Out of all he just said that’s the part you choose to remember? He could have been kidnaped Frank! He could have been dead!” Ian shouted. He couldn’t believe this man. How can a parent be so irresponsible?

“Don’t you dare talk back at me boy! You ungrateful little shit!” Frank didn’t hesitate before hitting Ian right in the face. No one moved a muscle. They knew better than to object. He took a last look at the bunch and was out of the house. Lip just placed his hand on Ian’s shoulders and Ian just shoved it off. He proceeded to walk to his room not wanting to talk about it. It was not the first time this happened and it will not be the last. Not with Frank around anyways. 


	5. – Morning runs and evening visits –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once inside he analyzed his face in the mirror. Great, his lip was seriously fucked up. Good job Frank, you fucking fuck.

**Chapter 5 – Morning runs and evening visits –**

 

That night was long as hell and the morning took it’s sweet time to arrive. Ian didn’t sleep a minute, how could he? He hated his life so much right now. How could he be so afraid of that piece of trash that calls himself their father? The bastard took a swing at him and he didn’t even flinch. He just stood there and took it in. Like some kind of pussy. He felt his brother’s pity and that put a lid on everything. That’s what he needed, the pity of his siblings. It was 6 a.m. when he decided that moping in bed about this wasn’t going to solve anything so he decided to go for a run.

“Yo, where are you going at this ungodly hour?” Carl asked after the load growl Ian made woke him. “Is it at least 8 a.m.?”

“Nope, 6 actually, can’t sleep so why bother staying in bed. Gonna go for a run, go back to sleep, God knows you need it kid” he said and made his way to the bathroom.

Once inside he analyzed his face in the mirror. Great, his lip was seriously fucked up. Good job Frank, you fucking fuck. He stared at his damaged face a few minutes longer before stepping in the shower letting the warm water calm his nerves. After the shower he dried himself up and got dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a green t-shirt. He threw a grey hoodie on and a pair of black sneakers and he was out the door. After a 3 mile run he suddenly stopped, took a breath and decided that he should start running more because he was seriously out of shape. He decided for a walk back home, he was in no shape to run all the way back. He was almost home when he decided to stop in front of a house, the Milkovich house. He just stood there and looked at it and he didn’t know why he had the urge to go inside. A certain black haired with blue eyes person popped into his mind and it wasn’t the one with the longer hair. Damn it Ian, get yourself together. Stop thinking about that looser and get your ass home already. You seriously can’t start having a stupid crush on that shrimp. You can’t even begin to think that that is a good fucking idea. Remember where you live, who you live with, remember who you HAVE to be and not who you WANT to be. There is no place for dreams of a greater future here. Stop thinking of a better world and get your sorry ass home. As his argument with his own self got to an end, Ian decided he should go home and back to reality.

When he arrived home Fiona was already making breakfast and singing some show tune. God, she could be pathetic sometimes. He just chuckled and took a seat at the table. She gave him a small smile, put a plate of pancakes in front of him and didn’t open the subject they both knew was lingering in the air. She knew better that to bring something like that up in their family. They ate in silence as their siblings came down one by one and each of them mumbled a ‘Morning’ and got their own plate of food.

The day was slow, as a Sunday always is. They watched some tv, some of them took a nap, Debbie played with Liam for a while and Fiona argued with someone over the phone. Ian thought he heard her calling him Steve but he couldn’t be sure. Maybe he was another boyfriend, who knew? Their dad didn’t show up all day, maybe he was dead under some bridge, well at least that’s what Ian hoped. By the time he could even bring himself to get of off the couch it was already 5 o’clock. He decided to take a shower and get ready to go to Mandy’s house. He cleaned, got dressed, lit a cigar, closed the door behind him and he walked, all the way thinking of ways to kill Frank without actually going to jail. When he arrived, he knocked 2 times at the door and when the door opened he didn’t saw who he expected to see standing in front of him.

 

* * *

 

 

Mickey’s Sunday began like any other Sunday. He slept late, up until 11 a.m. got up, took a shower, had some breakfast, watched tv and then just stood there bored out of his mind. After what seemed like an eternity, his sister came out of her room, her hair all messed up and her face looking like she just slept for an entire week.

“Did you seriously just wake up? It’s like 2 p.m.” he said and followed her with his eyes as she clumsily went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

“Well fuck me for wanting to sleep in on my day off. Like you never slept so much in your entire life. Anyways, where’s the rest of this beautiful family?” she asked while trying to drink that coffee without dropping the fucking mug.

“Dunno, no one was home when I woke up, figured they went for some extra work or some shit”

“All 3 of them? That’s weird. Anyways, wanted to let you know that Ian is coming here tonight, at about 6, so if you are not ok with that you should just make other plans now.”

“The fuck do I care if the punk is coming over? Do I look like I could give a tinny rat’s ass? I don’t think so.” He was being defensive. Why, he didn’t know for sure. He was just not sure why he felt so uncomfortable around the red head. Every time he was with the kid he would get a weird feeling in his stomach, like a weird pain. If he didn’t know better he could say he liked the damn guy. But let’s face it, he shouldn’t take that road.  I mean to have a crush on the neighborhood fag basher is like having a death wish, literally. So he shook his head and tried to think of anything else than Ian Gallagher and for about 2 seconds he succeeded just that, that until he thought about him again. Damn, this is turning into a serious problem and Mickey should do something about it and fast.

“Fine, chill, I was just informing you, that’s all. Anyways, I’m off to take a shower, later double loser.” She said and went to the bathroom. After what seemed like an eternity she appeared out with a towel around her and one on her head. She went straight to her bedroom and changed.

They sat there and watched tv for about another 2 hours and by now it was 4:30. They argued about which franchise was better: Start Trek or Star Wars. After about 15 minutes they decided that they were both a couple of geeks and that this argument wasn’t important when Mandy’s cell started to ring. She went to pick up. All Mickey could hear was “What? “When” “How” and “I’ll be right over”

“Dad’s in the hospital” she said. She didn’t appear to be shocked, she didn’t seem to be scared, just normal. This wasn’t something that was new to the family and every time it happened they just shrugged and dealt with it.

“What was it this time? Got into a fight or something?” he asked not taking his eyes from the tv

“Dunno, I think so, Jamie and Iggy are there with him, Tony is out of town for a few days, they said he went to a cousin of ours who needed help with something.”

“Should I go or should you?” Mickey asked

“I’ll go. You went the last couple of times. I’ll be fine with Jamie and Iggy.” She said. She went back to her room and got out again this time with a jacket on and a pair of shoes. She said goodbye and was out the door.

Mickey stood there on the couch and decided on watching a stupid movie that was on and after a while he started to fall asleep when he heard 2 knocks on the door. He decided he would answer it, maybe it was important. As he opened the door he was welcomed by a freckled face with a questioning look. He stood there for about 3 seconds and before he wanted to ask the owner of the freckles why the hell he was here he remembered that his sister told him he was coming here tonight. She must have forgotten to call him and cancel. Well this is very awkward. 


	6. – Awkward moments and a shotgun –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian was looking awkwardly at the boy in front of him and wasn’t sure what his first words should be. He had to carefully select them so he wouldn’t sound lame.

**Chapter 6 – Awkward moments and a shotgun –**

 

Ian was looking awkwardly at the boy in front of him and wasn’t sure what his first words should be. He had to carefully select them so he wouldn’t sound lame.

“Yellow” Good job asshat. Superb. That is the best word ever.

“Uhm excuse me?” Mickey asked his brows forming a questioning look on his face.

“You know, yellow, as in hello. You know…” god why was he all of the sudden such a little bitch. He was fine 2 days ago. He was speaking normally, well swearing normally. But he made sense, most of the time anyways. Now he was making lame ass jokes as greeting words. Yellow, like that is still even a thing. Pff, he was pathetic.

“Oh yeah, yellow, haha, I get it now” Mickey said but there was no laughter in his tone. He just wanted this awkward encounter to end already. Should he ask him to leave? Or to stay?

“Uhm Mandy’s not here, something came up the last minute, our dad…he’s uhm…in the hospital, she had to go and I guess she forgot to tell you.” He said lamely as he scratched the back of his head. He does that when he’s uncomfortable.

“Oh, yeah, well, I’ll go then. See ya” he was turning around when the unexpected happened.

“Well…you could wait for her..uhm…..here. I don’t think she’ll be that long gone. If you want to, of course.” Whaaat? Did he just fucking ask that? Did he just ask this punk ass to stay? With him? Alone? In his house? Dear God what has gotten into him? Stop liking this piece of trash Mickey.

“Ok, I guess. If you say she won’t be long. Guess we can smoke one until she comes back.” He awkwardly said as he entered the house. He looked back at Mickey like he was waiting for something. He didn’t know what he was waiting for.

“You need something, or…?” Mickey asked the now lost boy.

“Oh..uhm no. Sorry. Don’t know why I stopped. Here, just let me throw this over there and I’ll… uhm yeah.” He said and threw his jacket on the nearest chair. He couldn’t find words to combine and form a normal sentence. What the hell was wrong with him? He wasn’t himself. He acted like a stupid teenager. He wasn’t a stupid teenager. Why the hell did Mickey bring out this side of him? He didn’t like it, not one bit. He had to collect himself and be normal. For fucks sake.

“So you want anything? A drink, some juice?” wait, isn’t a juice also a drink? Why was Mickey asking these stupid questions? Why did he care if he wanted something?

“Sure, a beer would be ok, I guess”

After 15 minutes of excruciating and awkward silence Ian finally remembered he had some joints. That’s the only reason he was here in the first place. To smoked some weed and chill with Mandy. He was going to do that only instead of Mandy there would be her insanely good looking brother. Her what? What did he just think? He thinks Mickey is good looking? Damn it Ian, you are a gay piece of shit.

Mickey noticed that Ian must be having a battle with himself because he was frowning a lot and sometimes muttered something under his breath. He decided he wouldn’t ask the red head what it was about as he didn’t want to become his punching bag.

“So, how was your day?” Really Mickey? That the best you could come up with?

“My day? Pretty boring, usual Sunday. Did nothing all day and then came here.” As he finished his boring answer he lighted the little joint, took 2 puffs and then passed it to the owner of those blue eyes. Damn his eyes were blue. Stop it Ian, focus, you can’t think about this now, you can’t let yourself make a mistake that might end up killing you. Mickey took the small joint from his hand, their fingers touched and he could swear to the almighty God that he felt something, like a small electrical sensation. Yeah he was most definitely going crazy. He was losing his God damn mind. He was risking to much staying here with Ian. He knew Ian would probably kill him if he only knew he was gay not to mention if he could hear what he was thinking. He should just ask him to leave. Yeah, that would be the smart thing to do. But then Ian gave him a small smile and Mickey swears it was genuine, a real smile, not a smirk, not a grin but a smile. He decided he liked his smile. So, him being a fucking weak ass person, he smiled back. They stood there awkwardly and smoked some more.

Ian was going out of him mind there. Why did he smile at the shrimp? And why did the shrimp smile back? He had a feeling about this one, he didn’t know for sure, but could it be, could Mickey be gay? Or was his gaydar broken? He could be wrong, what if he made a move on Mickey and he wasn’t gay, what then? He would be dead. Mickey would tell everyone and his father would find out. Then what? Damn, he was screwed.

“Looks like that’s the last hit. You should finish it” Mickey said pointing to the small stump in Ian’s hand.

“Neah man, we’ll shotgun.” Ian said out of the blue. Well that’s not gay at all. Nope. Not gay. Mickey just nodded like it was something of the normal variety. When Ian saw that he didn’t protest he took the last hit, hold the smoke in his mouth and then leaned it towards the boy’s mouth, got so close he could practically die and blew the smoke into his mouth. It was the most intense moment of his life. He literally froze, the other boy didn’t do anything either. They just stood there, inches apart. After a few seconds he settled back in his seat and coughed awkwardly.

“Uhm yeah, I think I should go, uhm Fiona needs me. I guess I’ll see you around. Bye Shrimp” he said, all words in one breath. He practically ran outside and closed the door behind him. He was on his way when he heard

“Hey Fire crotch?” damn. What should he do? Turn around or run? Run, definitely. But he turned.

“Yeah?” he asked scared

“You forgot your jacket” he said smiling and holding his jacket. Yes, of course, that’s why he was freezing. His jacket.

“Yeah, thanks, how stupid of me” he said and went a few steps back to meet the man holding his piece of clothing. He got a grip on the damn thing but the other boy didn’t let it go. Damn, he knew. He knew. He was going to talk, to threaten him.

“Next time, fire crotch, invent a better excuse for leaving. Be more creative. Later” he winked and with that he was back in the house. What the hell just happened? Did he winked? And what he said, does that mean he was saying that next time he should stay? Should he go back? No, Ian, stop it. You can’t be weak. You just can’t. He went home, a rather weird smile plastered on his face. He almost felt hope, for a second there, he felt hope.

 

* * *

 

 

Well that was not what he expected. Did Ian just leave because of what had happened? Of course, the shotgun thing was way awkward but at the same time so intense. I mean, that stare, that was not a “I’m gonna kill you stare”. That was a “I wanna kiss you but I can’t cause then it means I’m gay” stare. But was he? Was Ian really gay? He can’t be. Not Ian Fag Bashing Gallagher. There was no way.

Because his thoughts tortured his mind he totally did not hear his sister arriving, he did not hear when she asked him what he was doing or when she coughed loudly for him to fucking hear her. She then proceeded to slap the back of his head. Yeah, that should do the trick.

“Fuck, what the hell?” he asked and turned around to see who the fuck slapped him.

“Are you crazy bitch? Why’d you do that for?”

“Well you didn’t hear me talking and I was getting tired of shouting. What were you thinking about anyways?”

“Nothing” he lied. “Just stuff, things” he looked away.

“Wow there Rick Grimes, aren’t we all dramatic all of the sudden” she laughed “Is something wrong with you?” she was a bit worried actually. Her brother was acting a bit strange.

“Neah, I’m fine. How’s pops?” he asked but he really didn’t care.

“He’ll live. He got into a fight and got a few bottles and chairs thrown at his head but he’s fine. Gonna be there for a few more days, thank God” he smiled at her last words.

“Where are the bros?”

“Out, they said they needed to chill for a bit. They had a hard day. It’s only 8, they’ll be back by midnight” by now she was seated on the couch. She looked around the room; 2 bottle of beers, a stump in the ashtray.

“Was someone here?” she asked casually.

“Oh yeah, I forgot, your super bff was here. You forgot to tell him not to come”

“Oh shit, I totally forgot. Damn. But wait, did he stay? With you?” her eyes were now like saucers that waited to fly into the night sky.

“Yeah, I told him to stay and wait for you but I guess he got bored after a while cause he invented a lame excuse that he had to go and he was off. Thank God” the last part was a lie. He wanted him to stay.

“Well I’ll just give him a call and excuse myself. The poor thing, had to endure your presence. I hope you didn’t scare him into oblivion” she thinks she is sooo funny

“Well ha fucking ha, you joker you. The fuck do I care if he got bored or not. Sucks for him. And if you must know, I am a very cheerful person to be around with.”

“Sure you are buddy. Whatever makes you sleep at night.” She laughed her ass off. He just flipper her off, called her a slut and went to his room. He didn’t have the nerves to listen to her laugh any more.

After a few minutes of internal debate, he decided to ask her the most stupid ass question he could ever ask. He grabbed the door handle, pressed it and opened the door. He took a deep breath and said:

“Is Ian gay?” pause, silence. She just stood there, didn’t move or anything. Did she hear him or what?

“What? Why? How? What’d he do?” she asked quickly and scared.

“What? Nothing? I was just wondering, you know, it’s a normal question.”

“That is sooo not a normal question. That is sooo not…Mickey? Do you like Ian or something? Cause you can tell me”

“Are you out of your mind? Of course I don’t fancy the bloke. I was just asking because…because. Fuck, I don’t know why but he certainly didn’t do anything and I certainly don’t fucking like him” he shot the door to his room, shielding himself from his sister and from his stupid question. What the hell was he thinking? And he didn’t even get an answer. Fucking Gallagher, why did he enter his life? 


	7. – Geography, cigars and new found feelings –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I can’t believe I’m telling you this but here it goes. He is!” He is what? Is she finished? That’s it?  
> “Who is what?” he asked not really getting where she is going with this.

**Chapter 7 – Geography, cigars and new found feelings –**

 

Mickey knew he had to go to school in a few minutes but he just couldn’t get himself out of that God damn bed. He felt so ashamed that he asked his sister that last night and he felt even more ashamed about what happened with Ian. Things are going to be really awkward between them, he just knew it. And of course he wasn’t gay, he couldn’t be. But then why couldn’t Mickey shake this feeling out of his head? It was driving him insane. He decided that shifting in his bed all night and thinking about this over and over again all night was enough. He got up, took a shower, got dressed and waited for Mandy to get ready and go to school.

She didn’t ask him anything, all the way there, she was silent, he was silent. It didn’t matter that it was very awkward between them but she didn’t say a word. She knew she would see Ian today and she dreaded that moment. Should she ask him if something happened? No! That was out of the question. She will keep her mouth shut and if Ian decided to tell her something she would listen and understand. She wasn’t going to make this hard for either of them. If there was something between them they should be the ones to resolve the problem, not her.

“I guess I’ll see you around, call me if you want to skip a class or something, ok?” she asked the silent boy. He nodded and smiled at his sister and started to walk away.

He was lost in his sad thoughts and in a few seconds he was already in front of his first class. Great, this is what he needed, to learn geography. He hated that subject. He really did. The fuck did he need to know about mountains and shit like that? He gave a sight and entered his class praying in his mind that Gallagher was not there. He knew they had this class together but it’s not like Gallagher is a model student or some shit like that. He didn’t even remember seeing him more than once or twice in this class. He looked around and to his luck the red head wasn’t there. Phew, he dodged a bullet, for now.

Only a few minutes passed, the teacher only had the time to get out some papers from his bag when the door slammed open and a tall familiar figure entered. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Well we are so glad that you decided to honor us with your presence, Mister Gallagher. How did this miracle came to be?” Mister Albaretti asked from his desk.

“Yeah, I thought I would just come and learn some history shit, you know, expand my mind and what not” that fucking smirk again

“Well that sounds all fun and beautiful only this is geography mister Gallagher. So maybe you need to learn you schedule before you want to learn anything else.” He said looking at him with boredom. Their teacher was so done with students like Ian. So done.

“That’s what I meant actually, geography. Same shit anyways.” He still stood at the door. He wasn’t being himself. Usually he wouldn’t give 2 shits about what class this was. He would just take a sit and then proceeded to not pay any attention.

“Well, are you attending the class or not? I don’t have all day you know” the teacher questioned the tall boy. He nodded and went to his seat which happened to be in front of Mickey. Great. The best moment of his life….not.

During the lesson, at one point, when mister Albaretti started to talk about the importance of the Vatican City, Ian turned around to face Mickey. He gave him a big ol’ grin and proceeded to ask:

“So, I was thinking, do you and Mandy want to skip next period and go smoke behind the gym again?” Well he was acting like nothing happened. That’s the road he decided to take? Well Mickey can play the same game too.

“Sure, whatever man. Home ec is a really boring class anyways. I could skip it” he said. This is going to be a fun game indeed. Ian turned back around but not before flashing yet another famous grim.

The class was boring as hell and it took forever to end. By the time the bell rang Mickey could swear he was now a 90 year old man sitting in his chair at home and watching a boring show about the Pope. He shrugged at the thought of that and made his way out of the class. About a minute in his walk down the hallway he noticed a presence. He turned around and of course Ian was right behind him.

“Uhm are you following me? Aren’t you supposed to be with you thug brother?”

“If you must know he decided to skip school this week, he was some things to take care of and besides, are you really that thick? Did you already forget?” he asked the boy

“What?”

“Uhm I asked you like half an hour ago if you are coming with me and Mandy behind the gym to smoke? And you said yes.” He looked at him with a frown.

“Yeah, yeah, I forgot for a second. Yeah, let’s go man. Does Mandy know? I mean, did you text her?”

“Yeah, I texted, she said and I quote: Hellz yes. I hate that English teacher bitch. Unquote” he laughed and proceeded to walk towards the gym with Mickey now behind him.

They arrived there a few minutes later to see that Mandy was already there waiting for them. She smiled when she saw the pair laughing at something Ian said. She then looked at Mickey and saw something that she hasn’t seen in a long time. A smile, a sincere smile. she really started to think that maybe he did like Ian. Of course she couldn’t tell Ian that. She knew he had a reputation to maintain and that he would never in a million years get himself involved in a relationship. She got sad at the thought of that.

“Who died?” Mickey asked when they were finally next to her

“No one ass-face. Took you two long enough to get here” she said raising a brow.

“Well your very intelligent brother forgot I asked him only half an hour ago to come here and I had to stop and ask his sorry ass again. I swear, I don’t even know why I put up with his stupid head”

“Very funny fire crotch. You do realize everyone forgets things, don’t you?” Mandy almost spilled her juice at the mention of that nickname.

“Fire crotch? What the hell does that even fucking mean?” She asked between laughs.

“He assumes the carpet matches the drapes.” Ian said and pointed to his hair when he said the word drapes. That made Mandy laugh even harder and Mickey blushed. Ian thought that was adorable.

“Well that is something, I guess.” She said but then thought she should change the subject for her brother’s sake. “Anyways, what are your plans for tonight? Wanna go to the park or some shit?” she asked the pair.

“I can’t, I have some shit to take care of” Ian responded quickly. He didn’t but he wasn’t in the mood for company, well not her company anyways.

“I don’t know. I don’t feel like it sis. Maybe some other time?”

“Fine losers. Be that way.” They laughed at her frown and then she kicked them both in the legs. They proceeded to laugh and talk about nothing important until the next period arrived. They all went to their classes and prayed to God that this day would end faster.

 

* * *

 

 

Later that night Ian decided to go to his favorite place to relax. An abandoned building not very far from his house. He knew no one would disturb him there.

 

* * *

 

 

Mickey was sitting on his couch contemplating the world when Mandy came out of her room, looked at him like she murdered someone and she was about to confess. She took a seat across from him on the small table. He gave her a questioning look.

“Ok, what I am about to tell you can’t leave this room, ok?” he nodded now very scared what she was talking about.

“Swear to the almighty God Mickey, swear it” damn what crawled up he ass and died?

“I swear! Jesus what happened?”

“I can’t believe I’m telling you this but here it goes. He is!” he is what? Is she finished? That’s it?

“Who is what?” he asked not really getting where she is going with this.

“Ian, he’s…uhm…gay” she closed her eyes and waited for the response. It never came. She opened her eyes to see a dumb-struck Mickey looking at her with his mouth open and his eyes wide as fucking plates.

“Well say something you ass-face”

“Why? How? Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you asked me you stupid mouse. Yesterday evening.” Was she serious? She wasn’t lying?

“Are you sure? Maybe you misunderstood”

“He told me: “I am gay Mandy, gay as a fucking unicorn shitting a rainbow” “ He cracked at that quote. “But he also mentioned that if I ever tell someone he would kill me so keep your mouth shut. If you like him or some shit and you decide that fucking his ass is a good idea don’t you dare tell him I told you he was gay. Say you figured it out all by your smart self. Just don’t drag me into this. His life is a fucking mess and his dad would literally kill him if he finds out. Please take that under consideration.” She said very serious. He understood so he nodded and then proceeded to get up.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to clear my mind. This is a lot of information to take in right now. I’ll be back soon” he said and he was out the door before she could protest.

Was this really happening? Did his sister just give him a green light to go after Ian? Was it a good idea? I mean, it’s a Gallagher for fucks sake. He was entering dangerous territory and he knew it. But God he was curious, he needed to know. He decided that next time he saw the red head he would ask him. If the boy decided to kill him, then be it. But he wouldn’t die without knowing what could have been. If you would have told him a few days ago that he will be developing a crush on Ian Gallagher he would have laughed in your face. Oh how times change in a matter of days. He got to his favorite place, his quiet place and too his utter shock he was not alone.

“Hey”

“Hey”


	8. – Beers, more beers and …. beers? –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Actually, I don’t get bored with you. You’re a fun person. I never really gave you a chance, you know?”

**Chapter 8 – Beers, more beers and …. beers? –**

 

There he was. Ian Gallagher was at his safe place. Why? He should say something.

“Hey” is all Mickey managed. Why was he out of air all of the sudden?

“Hey” Ian said back. He smiled a little, just a hint.

“So, how come you’re here?” Mickey asked first

“Well I come here when I want to be alone. How about you?” Ian answered calmly.

“I also come here when I want to be alone. That’s strange, how come we never crossed paths?” Mickey was wondering what kind of a trick was the Universe playing here.

“Who knows, maybe we never wanted to be alone at the same time?” it was an answer as well as a question.

Mickey shrugged and the looked down at his feet. He was feeling awkward and at the same time he was glad he was here. He never look at Ian and saw a kid that just wanted to escape his problems, he thought he was just a trash, a punk that doesn’t deserve a hello. He wasn’t entirely sure yet who he really was but he was starting to get the idea that maybe, just maybe he wasn’t as bad as he appeared to be. He was still scared to make any moves.

“So, I have some beers, want to join me?” Ian asked much to Mickey’s surprise.

“Yeah, that sounds great” he smiled and walked closer to the red boy. “But don’t you want to be alone? You did come here to be alone after all” he was just playing it safe.

“Neah, don’t worry about it, you aren’t such a bad company as I initially thought” well in Ian’s world this was a compliment so Mickey just accepted it.

An hour and some beers later they were talking about stuff they liked, stuff they disliked and so forth. They discovered that they could actually have a good time together and they had a lot more in common than they thought. Ian said something very funny and Mickey almost fell from the window frame he was now on.

“Wow there Milkovich, be careful cause I don’t wanna call an ambulance to come collect your sorry ass from the ground.”

“Sorry, the beer and laughter don’t mix with high altitudes” he smiled again. He found himself smiling a lot this night. “Should we go back home? You could come at my place, hang with Mandy for a while” Mickey suggested.

“Don’t want to bother your brothers. They don’t seem to like me and I don’t blame them.”

“Chill, 2 of them are out of town and the other 2 are at work until 11 p.m. It’s only 8, we have time” why was he being so anxious? Why did he want Ian to come with him so bad? He should stop drinking now.

“Well ok then, if you say so. Mandy won’t mind for sure.”

The way back to the Milkovich residence was a bit awkward, no one said anything. When they arrived they were surprised to see that dear sister wasn’t even home. Mickey decided to call her.

After the 3rd ring she picked up “Yeah? What do you want ass-face?”

“Well, where are you whore?”

“At Mia’s place. I didn’t want to wait for your sorry ass so I called her and now I’m here. Shit I have to go, we are making food and I think she just set the kitchen on fire. See ya later loser.” With that she closed. Well great.

“Well it looks like she not here” obviously. “Do you still want to stay? It’s just me, maybe you got bored with me. You must be dying a little inside, to have to spend so much time with boring old me.” He was making a fool of himself. It was just ridiculous.

“Actually, I don’t get bored with you. You’re a fun person. I never really gave you a chance, you know?” with every word coming out of his mouth he was getting closer to Mickey. His mind wasn’t working anymore, it was shut down by the sight of the boy in front of him. He never did anything so reckless in his entire life.  He was risking everything by getting closer but he didn’t care. He wanted to get closer to him.

They both looked at each other and did nothing, they didn’t even breathe. They were so close Mickey could practically count the boy’s freckles. Neither of them were backing down so that meant only one thing. They knew, both of them knew they couldn’t postpone this, whatever this was. Ian opened his mouth to say something but he was cut short when the smaller boy closed the space between them. At first Ian didn’t react, he usually didn’t like kissing, it felt too personal, but after a few seconds he started to feel like the world around him disappeared and they were the last men standing. The tall boy deepened the kiss. His hands were in Mickey’s hair and on the back of his neck, then on his back and then on his neck again. He didn’t know what to do with his stupid hands. Mickey started to take Ian’s shirt off and then threw it on the ground. Ian followed by throwing his shoes and then his pants, all this without parting from the Milkovich boy. Ian moaned a little when Mickey touched his bare back with his soft hands. They finally ran out of air so they stopped and looked at each other. Mickey made a gesture towards his room and Ian nodded both of the practically running there. The smaller boy threw his damn pants, why were his pants still on, well…not anymore. He pulled the tall red head back into a kiss and then they both fell on the bed. They didn’t close the bedroom door but neither of them cared. This was happening and everyone else could just go die in a fire. If anyone came in right now, well they would have to either enjoy the show or go the fuck away.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Damn Milkovich, didn’t know you had it in you or else I would have done something about it earlier.” Ian said as he lighted a cigar. They were sitting on the couch again. They made sure to get dressed before anyone came back. Thank God that no one came in before because that person would have been scarred for life.

“Yeah well you can’t blame me for not shouting at the top of my lungs that I’m gay. After all, your family lives here”

“Ouch, right in the feelings Shrimp.” He made that face hurt in the heart gesture. He was such a dork. “But I don’t blame you. My family sucks. My dad mostly, but honestly I don’t know if my brothers would be cool with it either.”

“Why do you do everything he say man? You are better than you father, why scoop so low?” maybe he shouldn’t have said that

“Fuck you man, you know nothing about me or my family. What I do is my fucking business. Just because we fucked one, well twice, doesn’t mean you have the right to meddle in my personal shit” he really didn’t appreciate the question.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Won’t ask again”

“You better not” he took another smoke “Look man, this is fun and all but if you want to keep this going I have some rules. If you have some tell them now and don’t regret later that you didn’t” he seemed serious. Rules? Mickey didn’t have rules. Maybe he should make up one now.

“I’ll go first: rule nr1. No dating. I don’t do that shit. It’s not for me or for the eyes in this town. Nr2. No meddling in personal stuff like you just did before. Nr3. No cuddling or shit like that, I’m not the type. Keep it clean, I mean simple. Nr4. No late night calls to see how the other one is doing, shit like that is too personal for me. Keep it to yourself. And last nr5. Never, ever, in your life tell any living soul about us. No one, not even Mandy, if this shit gets back to my dad we are both dead. You understand me? Can you get used to these rules or should we just call it now and save ourselves the trouble?

“No, I could get used to them. It’s not like I want people to know that I’m gay. It’s fine with me” he said but in reality he thought the rules were a bit too much. He gets the last one but the rest? But he did enjoy the boy’s presence so he decided he would just go along with the rules, for now at least.

“So, what are yours?” he asked Mickey but the boy was too deep into his thoughts. “Hello, earth to Shrimp. Are you there?” he waved his hands in front of the boy to bring him back to reality.

“Yeah sorry, what were you saying?”

“What are your rules you idiot?”

“My rules? Uhm yeah, I only have one” he was totally making this up. What to say? Something clever. “Don’t fall in love with me” well that was dumb.

“No problem there Milkovich” he said laughing “Fear not, I don’t fall in love or shit like that so be at ease.” He continued to laugh. That made Mickey angry a bit. What? Was he not the kind of guy another guy could love? Was he just a joke to him? Of course, he wasn’t going to ask him that but it still nagged him deep inside his head. Stupid Ian Gallagher and his stupid laugh. He was a stupid boy, a stupid handsome boy. Damn it Mickey, again? 


	9. – Confessions and secret meetings –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey knew he was lying, he wasn’t stupid, but he also knew who he was dealing with and he didn’t ask the ginger boy any questions about it.

**Chapter 9 – Confessions and secret meetings –**

 

Ian left half an hour later. By now it was 11 p.m. and Mandy was still at her friend’s house, his brothers should be home in about 15 minutes. He was left alone with his thoughts. A smile appeared on his stupid face. Did this actually happened or was he on acid or some shit and he imagined it all. Nope, it happened, it really did and Mickey was feeling better than he should have. This is not your typical romance story with all the happiness and shit like that. This was a rough reality, a story about two gay kids that knew they could never truly be happy or be in some kind of a relationship. This was doomed from the start and Mickey knew it but damn it all if he wasn’t going to make the best out of the little time they had. He heard the door open and looked over his shoulder to see Mandy there.

“Hello dear brother of mine? Found your way home I see” she threw he jacket on a chair and her shoes in the middle of the house. Classy lady.

“Yeah whatever, I needed time to think that’s all. Why do you even care anyways?”

“Why wouldn’t I care? My brother asks me if my friend is gay, I tell him he is and the next thing I know he walks away for God know how long and God knows where and with who” is she going somewhere with this?

He just shook his head, flipper her off and started walking to his room when all of the sudden he froze into place. Wait a second, earlier today she told him that Ian was gay, she told him that if he wanted to fuck him he shouldn’t tell Ian that Mandy told him he was gay. Why would Mandy suggest too fuck the red head? Mandy didn’t know Mickey was gay, he never told her. OMG she knew, she knew all along. He was so distracted by the ginger mess that he didn’t even notice that she was giving him advice about a guy. Fuck, what should he do now? He turned back around

“You know, don’t you?” he asked quietly

“About you being gay? Yeah, knew it for years but I was just hoping you would tell me yourself. The other day when I mentioned all those things about Ian I let slip that I knew but you didn’t notice”

“Damn, I was distracted about what you told me woman, wasn’t thinking straight” she laughed at that pun.

“Well I’ll say. But anyways, did you go looking for him? Did something happen?” this could go 2 ways: one: he tells her the truth and asks her too keep her nasty mouth shut or two: he lies and never tells her anything. But let’s face it, she would catch on to the lie.

“Uhm I didn’t go looking for him but I did find him.  He was at my safe place which coincidently is his safe place too. Fucked up world. Anyways, we talked there and nothing happened….there” he stopped then his sister looked at him wide eyed.

“There? Did something happen elsewhere?”

“Mandy, you have to promise me you won’t tell, not even Ian, he told me not to tell any living soul, you included” he knew he could trust his sister

“I promise Mick, I swear”

“So, we came back here cause I thought you would be here, so we could hang, you know?” she nodded. “Then you weren’t, I called you and you said you would be out a while. I told him he could go if he wanted to but he didn’t. He stayed” he stopped again.

“Aaaaaand?” impatient little whore.

“And well after we kind of started a weird staring contest, then I lost it and kind of kissed him” she screamed, really loud. “Then well you know, things just happened” he was blushing like a school girl in love.

“OMG OMG OMG you fuckers fucked!!! You so did. OMG I can’t believe you did it. You animal.” She said and punched him, repeatedly, in the arm.

“Stop it with the punching assface. You are annoying. Yeah we did but please keep your mouth shut for both of our sakes.”

“I want details” she said grinning.

“You are soooo not getting details you sick woman. What’s wrong with you? You think we are a bunch of girlfriends describing our sex life? No way, you can cross this off your ‘Mandy and Mickey talk about sex’ list. It’s not happening.” She laughed and punched him in the arm again making him roll his eyes.

Eventually their brothers came back home, they talked for about an hour then everyone went to bed. Mickey was the only one who couldn’t close an eye all night. He was too busy thinking about what happened earlier and where all this is going.

 

* * *

 

 

Ian got home from Mickey’s house a few minutes after he left. He went straight home even though for a moment he debated if he should go or not, maybe stay outside a little longer. When he got there he saw his father was back, with a black eye and everything. He smiled to himself at the sight of that but made sure Frank didn’t notice.

“Where were you, you piece of useless shit?” he asked his son. Ian just rolled his eyes at the pretty nickname his father threw his way. He must love oh so much.

“Out, what’s it to you? You never cared before.” He poured a glass of orange juice in the meantime.

“I need to keep track of you weasels or you’re going to run away. You think you would survive out there without me? You wouldn’t know what to do with your pathetic lives.”

“Uhm what are talking about? Never said I was going anywhere. Why open this subject?” he swears to God, sometimes Frank will say the stupidest things.

“Fine, don’t listen to me. Be that way. Run away for all I care. Go die under a bridge you ungrateful brat” he was swinging his hand all over the place as he was talking. Ian then decided that his dear father was most certainly on some weird shit. He always talked nonsense when he was high on crazy stuff.

Frank went outside again, maybe he will die under a bridge, that will make everyone happy.

Ian was bored but also tired, not sleepy, just tired. He went to his bed. He didn’t check the clock but he knew it was past 11. Lip wasn’t home, Fiona either. Debbie was in her room probably and Carl was sitting on his bed. Ian just said a hello and jumped in his own bed and pretended to fall asleep. Even though his eyes were closed he never fell asleep that night. The thoughts of a certain boy made it impossible for him to fall asleep. He knew this wasn’t a good idea but at the same time he liked this idea a lot. Where this is going? Only time will tell.

 

* * *

 

 

That week went on weirdly. Mickey and Ian would meet in the weirdest places to fuck. They would usually stay a few more minutes after to talk about stuff but Ian usually said he had things to do or that he had to be home and then left. Mickey knew he was lying, he wasn’t stupid, but he also knew who he was dealing with and he didn’t ask the ginger boy any questions about it. He liked spending time with the tall boy but he would never admit it. Ian and his stupid rules. One night he almost broke one of them when he wanted to call him and talk. He was very bored and his sister had fallen asleep. He backed down and threw his phone on the couch when he remembered that stupid rule. Man, if they talked over the phone it didn’t automatically implied that they were married or some shit. He knew he was being soft and shit like that but can he be blamed that he wanted another person to talk about life besides his own sister?  Maybe in time Ian will change his mind about that rule or maybe about all of them? Mickey could only hope.


	10. – Falling in love and breaking rules –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He kept looking at the screen, should he click send or not? He would be breaking his own rule if he did so. Fuck. He pressed send.

**Chapter 10 – Falling in love and breaking rules –**

 

It’s been 2 weeks since they started this affair and Mickey was getting sick of these damn rules. There are nights when all he wants to do is call Ian to talk but he can’t. He also can’t ask him what’s wrong when he sees that Ian is mad or hurt, that would also be breaking another fucking rule.

It was a Saturday. The cold December air didn’t make it easier for Mickey to want to go to work today. He just wanted to stay in bed and not think about stupid Ian. His phone buzzed in his pocket so he took it out to see who texted. He looked at the text and then thanked all the Gods that existed. The text was from Linda telling him that he doesn’t have to come to work today because they weren’t going to open. Something about a family emergency. He didn’t care at all. He was just glad that he had 2 days off instead of one. He decided to text Ian.

-Yo man, I’m free today, don’t have to go to work. Wanna hang out? At the place?- he wanted to write at our place but decided not to. Ian would have probably lost his shit if he saw that.

-Yeah why not? Have nothing else better to do anyway. Meet me there in 15- as soon as he finished reading the text he got up from his bed, got dressed with a really warm sweater, took his jacket and he was out. He was there in 14 minutes and saw that the red head was already there.

“You’ve been waiting for long?” he asked the ginger boy

“Neah, just got here” he looked off, like he had something on his mind.

“Is everything alright?” he dared to ask

“Fine, just had a fight with my dad, that’s all.”

He didn’t want to open a hell hole so he didn’t ask anything more. He just got closer to him and kissed him. The taller boy didn’t object, on the contrary, he just deepened the kiss. Ian then proceeded to throw his jacket on the ground and Mickey did the same. They broke the kiss and Ian put his forehead on Mickey’s. That surprised Mickey because he never did that. They just looked into each other’s eyes for e few seconds before a grin came across Ian’s mouth and proceeded to turn Mickey the other way around. Mickey smiled to himself as he unbuckled his pants. Ian did the same thing.

 

* * *

 

 

“I have to say Milkovich, you know your stuff” Ian said while lighting a cigar.

“Mickey” That’s all the short boy said.

“What?”

“Mickey, my name is Mickey”

“Did you hit your head? I know your god damn name is Mickey. What the fuck is wrong with you?” he looked at him like he was from another planet.

“Then fucking say it from time to time. It’s either Milkovich or shrimp. I would like it if you would call me by my first name some times.” he was beginning to sound like a fucking girl. But he didn’t care. Yes, he was getting too involved in this fucked up relationship and he was starting to feel things he shouldn’t feel, which wasn’t the smartest idea but for God’s sake, he wanted Ian to show a little sympathy for once. It’s not like he was proposing or some shit.

“Jeez what crawled up you but and died? Fine I’ll stop calling you shrimp or Milkovich” he paused “Although, I kind of like Shrimp, cause it’s cute and small, like you” Mickey’s jaw dropped. Did he just call him cute? Did he hear that right? Ian never complimented Mickey, ever. This was a huge step forward for him.

“You think I’m cute?” he asked in a hush tone.

“Yeah I think you’re cute. But don’t go writing this in you diary later cause it’s not such a big deal. I’m not breaking your rule.” What rule?

“What rule?” Mickey asked. He was still amazed that he called him cute.

“Your ONLY rule Mickey. That I don’t fall in love with you. Did you forget your own rule?”

“Ah the rule. Yeah. Well you better not be breaking it, or else” he tried to sound though and all but he wasn’t very sure he said that right. Ian just laughed when he said that and all that Mickey was thinking about is how much he loved that laugh. It made his eyes so pretty, when he laughed, or smiled. Oh the smile, he loved his smile, how his freckles would dance around his face every time he smiled or laughed. He even loved his freckles and his nose and eyes and him. He loved him. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

 

* * *

 

 

Mickey got home an hour later. He went straight into his room and then threw his chair against the wall. What the hell? He loved him? He fucking fell in love? In only 2 weeks? What the hell? How could he let his guard down like this? He fell in love with a boy that will never return the feeling. He was screwed beyond repair and he knew it. He threw a few more things around the room then exited. Mandy looked at him scared.

“What the hell happened? Did you and Ian fight or some shit?”

“NO. We didn’t fight. Ugh I hate that smug son of a bitch” he was getting mental. He threw his hands in the air and then landed on the couch. His sister took a seat next to him.

“You can tell me what happened, you know you can”

“I’m in love with him” he said after a minute. She didn’t respond, didn’t laugh, didn’t made fun of him. She just hugged him, like she understood. She probably did. She knew Ian could never let himself fall in love, she knew their relationship, if you could call it that, was doomed from the start. That’s why she understood his pain. It’s awful to love and to not be loved back. She knew. They sat there for what seemed liked ages. After a while they went for a cold walk, it was fucking freezing outside, then Mandy made dinner, they watched tv and after a while he decided to go to bed. He cleaned a little in his room, just enough so all that stuff wasn’t on his bed anymore and he jumped on it. A few minutes later his phone buzzed.

 

* * *

 

 

Ian got home and went straight to the kitchen to get something to eat. Thank god Frank wasn’t home, he wasn’t in the mood. As he was eating, the conversation they had earlier popped into his head. How Mickey wanted him to stop calling him nicknames and stuff like that. He then remembered he called him cute. That was a stupid thing to do but he didn’t regret it after all. He did thought he was cute, gorgeous in fact. He wasn’t going to get all soft and shit like that. He wasn’t going to tell him more than that. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t feel something for him! It’s only been 2 weeks but he got used to the little bugger. He enjoyed his company a lot more than he should have. He felt happy when he was around Mickey. No one made him feel this happy. It was starting to scare Ian, this thing they had, what if it turn into something more? What if he falls in love and breaks the only rule that fucker has. He was scared because he was starting to feel sad when he wasn’t around or when he had to cancel because something came up. He was starting to get a weird feeling in his stomach whenever he saw him smile or laugh. He started to feel lightheaded when the little raven head kiss him, or when he kisses the top of his head, or is jawline. Fuck, he liked when he did everything. He was getting soft.

He stayed all day in the house, people were coming and going, Carl stayed with him for a while but then he got bored and left. He watched tv all day and he even fell asleep during some lame movie. He woke up to see that it was dark outside. He looked at a clock and saw it in 11 p.m. Damn, he wasted his day by sleeping. He wasn’t in the mood for anything so he went to his room. He threw himself on the bed and looked at the ceiling. Liam was already fast asleep in his little bed, Carl wasn’t even in the room. Who knew where he was. Lip was also out. He was bored but he didn’t want to go anywhere. So he took his phone out of his pocket, looked at the screen for a few minutes, then typed a message. He kept looking at the screen, should he click send or not? He would be breaking his own rule if he did so. Fuck. He pressed send.


	11. – Coffee, jokes and stares –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He thought he only imagined seeing Ian’s name there. He looked at the clock. It was past 11 p.m. and yet there it was, a message from the guy who said he doesn’t do messages at night cause it too personal.

**Chapter 11 – Coffee, jokes and stares –**

 

Mickey had to read that message twice because the first time he thought he read the senders name wrong. He thought he only imagined seeing Ian’s name there. He looked at the clock. It was past 11 p.m. and yet there it was, a message from the guy who said he doesn’t do messages at night cause it too personal. He snorted at that idea and proceeded to read the message again.

-Sorry if I freaked you out today- That’s all it said. But what did it mean? About the cute thing? He had to ask.

-Be more specific- he pressed send

A few minutes later a reply came –About calling you cute, Jesus, what else? I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of a creep. I don’t really do compliments, it’s weird for me- Mickey couldn’t help but giggle at that message. Ian was worried that he may think he is a creep? Quite the contrary.

-Well firecrotch if you must know I don’t think you’re a creep. It was nice. You’re cute too. Anyways, aren’t we breaking one of your rules here?- he had to ask

-Fuck of Mick, it’s a one time thing. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t freaked out. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye- Mick? Well that was new. He liked that. A lot.

-Sure it is ;) talk tomorrow. Night Ian- short and simple, that’s the way to go.  

Mickey couldn’t stop smiling. He knew Ian would break one of the rules one of these days, he just didn’t think it would be this early. Maybe this wasn’t going to be that bad after all. He knew he was acting like a school girl with a crush, but he didn’t care. These feelings were making him feel all tingly and happy and shit like that and he liked that. He never felt like this before, it was all new and fun.

When he woke up after only 3 hours of sleep he looked at the clock, it said 7 a.m. What the hell? It’s a Sunday, why is he up at 7 a.m. on a Sunday? He tried falling back asleep but that didn’t work and at about 8 he got up and took a shower. Everyone else was still sleeping. He wanted to make some coffee but saw there was none left. He decided to go buy some. He dragged his feet outside the house, in that cold, cold winter air. The Kash and Grab was closed so he had to go somewhere else. He got there, bought the coffee and then started to walk back home. He was walking slowly, thinking when he heard someone shout his name. He turned around to see across the street a familiar face. He was dressed in some sweat pants and some jacket. The first thing Mickey did was to smile.

 

* * *

 

Ian woke up at 7 a.m. again. He cursed under his breath, not wanting to wake up his brothers. He didn’t hear any of them coming back last night. Must have been after he fell asleep. He walked out of the room, took a shower, got dressed in his running outfit and went downstairs. He poured a cup of coffee but decided he would drink it after the run. He walked passed Frank who was lying on the floor next to the couch, the helpless bastard couldn’t even aim the couch. He walked out of the house, looked at his phone, he saw that it was 7:30, he put his phone back in his pocket and started to jog.

He was starting to get tired so he decided he would walk the rest of the way. By now it was 8:30 and he considered it was enough running for today. He stopped at some store to buy a pack a smokes (cause that’s a good idea after a run) and proceeded to walk home. He was lighting a cigar when he saw Mickey. He was getting out of a store with something in his hand. He couldn’t see what it was because he was across the road from him, coffee maybe? He decided to shout his name. The boy looked at him right after that and after a few seconds a smiled appeared on him face.

Ian liked his smile, he had a nice smile. Whenever he smiled his eyes would smile too. He also had pretty eyes, all blue and perfect. Ian liked Mickey’s face, everything about it. He also liked the way his eyebrows would come together when he was angry, the way his voice sounded when he was trying to say a joke but he couldn’t because he was laughing way too hard to form a sentence. He liked Mickey a lot and that scared the shit out of him. He never liked a guy before, never. He would just fuck them and leave it at that. But to actually feel something? That was something new. Something terrifying but at the same time beautiful. He was actually happy when he was with Mickey, like really happy. He wanted to spend more time with him but he also didn’t want to push the limits. All he knew right now, as the small boy was approaching him, is that he wanted to kiss him. But he couldn’t. Too many people around. He hated people.

 

* * *

 

 

“How come you’re up so early? It’s a Sunday. You always sleep in on a Sunday” Mickey couldn’t help but smile that he remembered that.

“Well I just woke up at 7 and tried to fall back asleep but that didn’t work out so I just got up, took a shower and well here I am.” Ian smiled at the boy. He really was cute, all tired and stuff.

“Hey, it’s cold outside, wanna come over? I’ll make us some coffee and I’ll wake up Mandy and we can hang.” That sounded tempting.

“Won’t your brothers mind? They still don’t like me” Actually his brothers don’t mind that he’s there a lot anymore. He stopped making their lives a living hell, so they just got used to the idea that he was there, a lot. Frank was still being a major dick every time they would run into his but they were used to that too.

“Nope, they don’t mind anymore. They got used to you after a while.”

“Well then why not. It beats having to see Frank’s ugly mug this early in the morning.” Mickey laughed at his comment. They started to walk towards the Milkovich residence. On the way they ran into some kids from school who were very surprised to see them walking together and not ripping their throats out. They talked, walked and after a few minutes they arrived. When they stepped inside, they both threw their jackets on the chair near the door and went to the kitchen.

No one was up yet but Mickey took a second glance around the house to make sure. Then he planted a kiss on Ian’s lips. The tall red head was caught by surprise but that didn’t make him stop. He deepened the kiss. It took them 3 minutes to stop what they were doing, there was no point for a make-out session in the kitchen with everyone in the house, sleeping or not. They both smiled and Mickey decided he should make that coffee.

“You could go and wake Mandy up while I make the coffee. Give her a big surprise” Mickey said with an evil grin on his face. Ian grinned back. That was a great idea.

Two minutes later he heard a shout and then a “Fuck you Gallagher! You fucking nut case!” Mickey laughed so hard he dropped the mug he was holding. It didn’t break, thank God, it was his favorite mug. He picked it up and put back on the counter. A minute later an angry Mandy and a cheerful Ian came back to the kitchen. Ian had the biggest smile on his face and Mandy the ugliest frown.

“Did you put him up to this?” she asked Mickey, her voice sounding more like a rabid dog than a normal person.

“Well I just told him to wake you up. What he did, I don’t know but by the look on your face I bet I was hilarious” he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Very funny you two. Kings of the fucking funny world.” She turned around and went to the bathroom.

“What the hell is up with all this noise? Can’t people sleep in this God damn house?” both Mickey and Ian turned around to see Terry standing there in his underwear and a t-shirt. Both of their smiles faded away. Mickey forgot he was even there. After he came back from the hospital he was barely home. Always sleeping God knows where. But it was nice when he wasn’t around. It seems today was not one of those nice days.

“Sorry dad, we were just messing around with Mandy that’s all. Go back to sleep.” Please, please, please.

“Fuck you and your messing around. I can’t sleep now. Who’s the ginger bread?” he asked like Ian wasn’t even near him to hear that. Mickey just rolled his eyes. He was surprised he didn’t recognize him. Everyone knew the Gallaghers. He must be hungover.

“Ian, he’s our friend.” He avoided the name Gallagher.

“Just don’t destroy the house. I’m getting dressed and going at the Alibi.” Wow shocker there.

“Fine. Don’t you want to eat something first?” He didn’t know why he asked that. He didn’t want him to stay.

“Neah, I’m not hungry.” With that he was back in his room.

The three of them spent the morning laughing, well mostly just Ian and Mickey laughing at Mandy. She sure wasn’t a morning person. After a while they watched tv, ate something. Their brothers got up eventually, but they weren’t interested to spend time with them. Occasionally Ian would glance at Mickey when he wasn’t looking and Mickey would glance at Ian when he wasn’t looking. Then sometimes they would glance at the same time and then smile like some idiot boys. They were feeling great, it was a good day for both of them and they hoped for many more like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll write another one later tonight after I get back home.


	12. – Alley kisses and a few less secrets –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She realized what she said, Ian heard what she said, Mickey also heard. No one was moving. Fuck.  
> “What did you just say?” Ian asked furious.

**Chapter 12 – Alley kisses and a few less secrets –**

 

It was winter break, everyone was kind of happy that Christmas was around the corner, well as happy as people can be in this neighborhood. Mickey was at the store, only an hour left until his shift would end. He was behind the register as always when Linda came in.

“Hello there Mickey, any trouble today?” she asked while she was looking in her purse for something.

“None. Everything went ok. Boring as usual. Although a man was very mad that we stopped bringing in some kind of beer he liked. But I didn’t think that was something worth calling you for. You said to only call you when it’s important”

“Yeah, that’s ok. Anyways, I’m here to tell you that you can now take your vacation days. We will close the store for a few days, we have to go visit some relatives and we are going to be back a day before New Year’s Eve. You’ll come to work then and on New Year’s Eve you’ll work only 3 hours so you’ll have time for whatever you have planned for that night. I think I’m being very reasonable.” She said, never once looking away from her damn purse. What was she looking for? God damn Narnia?

“Yeah thank you so much. I wasn’t expecting so many days of.” He was really glad. This meant more time with Ian. He was really getting used to seeing the bastard every day.  

“Don’t think too much into it, I’m only doing this because we have to leave. I wouldn’t close the store in the busiest time of the year if I didn’t have to. So consider yourself lucky my aunt is on her dying bed” Well that was not creepy at all.

“Gee, sorry, I didn’t know, I hope she’ll make it through the holidays.”

“Yeah well thank you, I guess. We’ll see how it goes. Don’t forget to tell Kash to check twice if he locked the God damn back door. We don’t want last month’s incident to repeat, ok?” with that she was out again.

After his shift ended and after he told Kash about the door he was on his way home. As usual Kash tried to make him stay overtime, to “talk” as he called it, and as usual Mickey said no. He was so sick of Kash, if only he could find another job that has a flexible program so he could quit and never see his face again. His thoughts were interrupted when a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him in an alley. He was ready to punch the asshole when he saw a smiling pale face. The person proceeded to kiss him right after that. A few minutes later they stopped to breathe.

“How was your day? I missed ya” the tall red head said and Mickey could feel his stomach turn around in a twirl.

“You did?” he smiled like a dumb fuck

“Yeah man, I was bored today. I came by the store earlier but you weren’t there, the old towel-head was at the register. I had to buy something so it wouldn’t look weird why I was there. Man that guy is creepy, he stares a lot” He was now smoking the cigar he lighted when he began the sentence.

“Well I missed you too. It can get very boring after a couple of hours there. I was probably in the back when you got there. Kash can be really creepy some times. He always tries to make me stay overtime. He says so we can talk but I know what he means. I keep telling the creep no but he insists. It’s getting old, but I just can’t find another job with a flexible program. It would be great if I could leave that place and never see his face again.” Mickey didn’t notice that after he started talking Ian grabbed his fingers with his own and he started playing softly with them. He kind of liked it and it was also weird because they never did that.

“Do you want me to kick his ass? I could do that if you want” He was so cute when he was being all tough and shit. How did they get here? A few months ago Ian was just the thug he hated and now Ian was this adorable person who he loved but he couldn’t tell him that he loved him because he knew he didn’t feel the same. He was so fucked.

“Neah man, he has kids. I don’t like messing with people who have kids. If something happens to him those kids lose a father. And why would you risk anything just so you can beat his ass?” their fingers kept dancing together.

“Because he makes you angry and uncomfortable and I don’t like seeing you like that.” Since when did Ian talk like this? Don’t get him wrong, he liked the attention, but it was strange. Ian never talked like that, not even about his family. Maybe he was feeling something too. At least he hoped.

They stayed a few more minutes there, made out a little but then the cold got the better of them so they decided to leave. Mickey invited Ian to hang out at his house seeing that his dad wasn’t around and his brothers wouldn’t be home for another 3 hours. On their way there they talked about how their dads got into a fight at the Alibi and how hilarious it was when they watched the video after. Someone filmed them and posted it on YouTube. They both thought that was the best thing ever. They were still laughing when Mickey opened the door, still laughing when they took their jackets off and still laughing when they entered the living room and saw Mandy looking at them with her eyebrow raised.

“What? Can’t two guys just have fun without people raising eyebrows?” Mickey asked his sister

“People can, you two, not so much”

“And why is that little Mandy?” this time Ian asked and then ruffled her hair a bit, much to her annoyance.

“Because” she proceeded to hit him in the leg “You two are evil, evil boys and you shouldn’t be allowed to be happy. It’s not fair for the rest of the world.”

“Very funny sis’. You’re a real joker aren’t ya?”

“I do my best to please the society” she said with a smug.

“We know you please the society but I thought you used you mouth for other things, not for jokes.” When she heard Mickey she threw a plastic cup that was near her. The cup went straight to his head.

“What was that for?”

“For being a dick”

“Ok you two, stop it before it turns into a war. Let’s do something useful, like smoke some weed” Ian suggested

“See Mickey, at least your boyfriend knows what he’s talking about” Everyone froze. She realized what she said, Ian heard what she said, Mickey also heard. No one was moving. Fuck.

“What did you just say?” Ian asked furious.

“Nothing?” she said and closed her eyes. She opened one of them to look at the freckled angry boy and then at Mickey.

“You told her? After I fucking asked you not too?” he was now yelling at Mickey.

“No wait. He didn’t tell me” she said quickly

“Then how the fuck do you know? Cause I sure as hell didn’t tell you.”

“I figured it out, ok? Look I know you are gay and I know Mickey is too. It’s not that hard to put 2 and 2 together. I’ve seen the way you both changed since you started hanging out together. And besides, I kind of overheard you guys one day.” They were both looking at her with wide eyes.

“You overheard us? How, when, what?” Mickey asked shocked.

“Well it was about a week ago, I had to come home from work because I forgot something that I needed at the diner and well you obviously thought you were alone and well there was a lot of swearing and some screaming and moaning and name calling and stuff like that. It was reaaaally embarrassing and I left as soon as I found what I was looking for.” They were both red as Ian’s hair. They couldn’t look at each other or at Mandy.

“I’m not gonna tell anyone guys. Believe me, I have nothing to gain from telling. Besides, I saw this coming from that day when we smoked behind the gym. Of course back then Mickey thought I didn’t know about him being gay, he eventually told me, but that’s another story. Calm down, your secret is safe with me” she assured the terrified boys. The first one to speak was Ian.

“Well sorry you had to find out that horrible way and sorry we didn’t tell you but I can be pretty paranoid when it comes to this problem. I guess it’s cool that you know, one less person to hide from” he said and gave Mickey a reassuring smile. He returned the smile.

“But that doesn’t mean I wanna hear that freak show again. Keep it on the down low with the sounds, ok?” she joked and both the guys rolled their eyes.

This thing turned out better than they thought. Mickey was glad his sister called him his boyfriend by accident. At least now they can act normal around her, stop pretending. This was a good thing.


	13. – Bar fights and relationship issues –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He knew it was a bad idea, he just knew it. He went after him.

**Chapter 13 – Bar fights and relationship issues –**

 

This Christmas wasn’t as bad as previous ones. Mickey got to spend time with his siblings and with Ian, he even went to Ian’s house one day when everyone was out with Fiona and her boyfriend Steve. They were starting to talk on the phone more often. Ian was starting to break his rules. He was the one who started sending Mickey texts and he was the one who decided one day to tell him how much he hated Frank and the things he makes Ian do. Mickey just listened to him and nodded when he felt he should. He was a great listener and he didn’t point out to Ian that he was breaking his own rules. He was just glad he was finally opening up to him. Today was New Year’s Eve and there was a party at the Alibi and everyone was going, the Gallaghers, the Milkoviches and others from the neighborhood. It sucked that so many people were going to be there because that meant they had to act like they were only friends, maybe not even that. Mickey was just about to head out of the store, he just finished his shift when Frank Gallagher walked in, already drunk.

“You there, the short one, bring me a bottle of scotch” Did he look like a fucking bartender to him?

“I was just about to leave, Kash will be at the register in about a minute. You can tell him that”

“Boy, as long as you work here and you are still inside this dump you will bring what I asked for” Why was he being such a dick, he could just as well go get it by himself. He had hands and feet and this isn’t a bar. But he didn’t want to cause trouble, not today, so he just cursed under his breath and went to get the bastard his precious bottle.

“Now, was that hard? See you out there punk” he threw him the money and he was out. Well at least he paid.

After Frank left Mickey got out quickly before another customer would arrived and keep him another minute there. He didn’t care that he didn’t wish Kash happy new year or some shit like that or that he left the register unattended, his shift was over and he yelled that he was leaving so Kash should have heard him. When he got home he expected everyone to be there but besides Mandy and his dad there was no one.

“You got home early today. Something happened?” Mandy asked

“Told you yesterday that I have a short shift today with being New Year’s and all that shit.”

“Probably didn’t hear you cause I usually don’t listen when you talk, it’s all noise to me” she smirked and their dad laughed

“Ha, she just told you you’re stupid and that no one listens to you” Both the kids turned and looked at their dad with an eyebrow raised. Was he trying to be funny? Nope, he’s just high.

“Yeah well she got me there. Silly ol’ me.” He said sarcastically and Terry just nodded.

“Anyway, what time do you suppose you’ll be ready tonight? Don’t wanna get there after everyone is already too drunk to function” he asked his sister

“Just admit it” she leaned in closer so their father wouldn’t hear he “You just want to spend more time with you boooyfrieend” she said the last part in a whisper and grinned.

“Could you not? He might still hear you. And that’s not it, I just don’t wanna get there too late, that’s all”

“Suuure and my name is Queen Elizabeth. Look I don’t know what time I’ll be ready, we’ll get there when we get there.” She went into her room. He also went into his room. When he closed the door his phone started to ring.

“Yeah?” he said

“What’s up Mick? You got home?” Ian said from the other line

“Yeah man, a few minutes ago, already thought about killing Mandy and cutting her head to keep it as a trophy.”

“What she do this time?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Nothing worth repeating. Anyways you’re coming tonight, no?” he was just trying to make sure.

“Yeah dude. Don’t worry, you’ll see my ugly face there and all the other ugly Gallaghers, unfortunately.”

“Your face is not ugly man. Stop saying that shit” Mickey said, his voice very low.

“I’ll stop saying that when you stop being a girl” he laughed. Mickey just rolled his eyes.

“Look, I have to go now but I’ll see you tonight, ok?” Ian said all of the sudden.

“Yeah sure, well, I’ll see you tonight then, bye”

“Bye”

Mickey threw his phone on his bed and started to look around his room. It was a fucking mess. He decided he would clean a little, not too much but enough so it wouldn’t look like a swamp anymore. After half an hour the room still wasn’t clean enough but he was getting bored with this task so he just left it like that. He started to think about Ian and about the fact that he still hasn’t told him he loved him. He was too scared to do it because he really couldn’t tell if he felt the same way and if he didn’t Ian would freak out and leave. He really didn’t know what to do.

 

* * *

  

Ian’s day wasn’t so bad, he helped his brother Lip with something and after that he just wondered around the house not really doing anything. Everyone was home, Debbie was watching Liam, Carl was trying to burn something, Lip was sleeping and Fiona was taking a shower. Everything was fine until Frank walked in, a bottle in his hand.

“Your friend, the Milkovich kid can learn some manners” he directed the question to Ian.

“And why is that?”

“Well he was being a little bitch when I asked him to bring me a bottle of scotch. Is that too much to ask of someone who is working there? He kept telling me his shift was over, like I give a shit.” He threw himself on the couch and opened the bottle.

“Well, it’s not a bar you know, you could have taken the bottle yourself” he gave Ian an angry stare.

“Don’t be on his side you little shit. Is he the one raising you? Providing for you? I don’t think so” Ian just rolled his eyes and walked away before he said anything else. He kept mumbling about Mickey being disrespectful and so forth. When he entered his room he decided to call the boy to see what he was doing.

After a few rings he answered. “Yeah?” he said. He sounded pissed.

“What’s up Mick? You got home?” he asked the boy, he wasn’t going to ask what’s wrong from the start.

“Yeah man, a few minutes ago, already thought about killing Mandy and cutting her head to keep it as a trophy.” Came from the other line. He chuckled a little at the sound of that.

“What she do this time?”

“Nothing worth repeating. Anyways you’re coming tonight, no?” He got that he didn’t want to talk about it so he decided to leave it at that. He wouldn’t ask about Frank either.

“Yeah dude. Don’t worry, you’ll see my ugly face there and all the other ugly Gallaghers, unfortunately.” He said and waited for a response.

“Your face is not ugly man. Stop saying that shit” Mickey was being all Mickey like and cute. He liked when he was overreacting.

“I’ll stop saying that when you stop being a girl” He loved to tease him. He could almost see him rolling his eyes. Then all of the sudden his door opened and Frank was sitting there with his bottle in a hand and gesturing for Ian to come out with the other hand.

“Look, I have to go now but I’ll see you tonight, ok?” he said quickly before Frank could protest.

“Yeah sure, well, I’ll see you tonight then, bye” Mickey sounded worried. He’ll explain later.

“Bye” and with that he ended the call.

He looked at Frank and asked a “What?”

“Why is your damn brother sleeping in my bed?”

“Which one?” although he knew it was Lip

“Lip, the useless one. Does he not have a bed of his own? Did it burn down to the ground or something?” he was annoyed

“Well did you try waking him up? Why do I have to wake him? You have hands and a mouth.”

“What did I say about talking back at me boy? Go wake his useless ass. Now!” he yelled.

“Fine. Dear God what a family.” He mumbled the last part. He went into Frank’s room.

“Dude, wake the fuck up. Frank wants to sleep and he’s pissed you’re in his bed.” Lip opened his eyes lazily. He looked at Ian and then at Frank who was sitting in the door frame.

“Fine. Just wanted to get a few minutes of sleep but Carl kept nagging me so I came here. Seems like I can’t sleep anywhere in this house” he said and got up. He walked right passed Ian and Frank and went straight to their room and slammed the door behind him. Ian kept looking at Frank and Frank kept looking at him.

“What, you want a prize or something? Get the fuck out and let me sleep.” He did just that not wanting to be near him anymore.

He hated Frank with such a passion he couldn’t even explain. But at the end of the day, he was his dad and that made Ian be loyal, in a kind of twisted way. He went downstairs and started to watch tv. There were still a few hours before the party so he had time to kill. His mind flew back to Mickey and to the fact that he had to be careful the way they acted around each other tonight, didn’t want people to become suspicious of them. Life sucked.

 

* * *

 

 

People were starting to gather at the bar, everyone was being loud and cheerful. Ian hated that, the way people pretended to be happy with other people around. Everyone hated everyone in this neighborhood but whenever things like this were organized everyone was acting like they loved one another. It made him feel sick. Then he spotted Mickey and every other thought went away.

“You made it. Finally. I was just about to murder everyone here. Fucking clowns” he said to the smaller boy that was now in front of him.

“Great way to start the year I guess, covered in blood and all” he had such a cute smile. He loved his smile.

“Yeah, where’s Mandy anyways?” he asked after he noticed the girl was not with him.

“Oh, she’s outside talking with some dude she’s seeing. A pathetic excuse for a man if you ask me” he said as he made Kevin, the bartended, a sign to give him a beer.

“Is big brother Mickey being protective towards his little sister?” Ian asked with a silly voice.

“Very funny. I just don’t like the bloke. He seems fishy, like she picked him right out of an aquarium.” Ian snorted at that remark. He liked when Mickey was getting all protective and stuff. So small yet so fierce. He smiled at the boy.

Despite of some things they were actually having a great time. They were talking, laughing, making fun of drunk Mandy. She almost landed on her face when she tried to dance on a table. They had to help her up. They were all drunk, of course, but Mandy was obviously trying to set some kind of a record.

Midnight came, everyone cheered and shouted. People on the streets were throwing bottles and yelling like crazy. Ian suddenly felt like he was suffocating so he decided to walk out.

“Hey, I’m going outside for a bit, wanna come?” he asked Mickey and he just nodded. When they went outside Ian could finally breathe.

“Is something wrong? Too much to drink?” Mickey asked him and tried to touch his hand but Ian pulled away.

“Watch it man, someone could see us” he was getting all fired up again.

“So what Ian? What if someone sees us? I’m getting real tired of this ‘uu don’t touch me in public’ shit. It’s not like I got on my knees and started to suck your dick. Calm yourself already” he snapped. He never snapped before.

“It’s not like that and you know it. Don’t you think I want to touch you or something? Ever since you arrived all I wanted to do was kiss you but I can’t. People would freak out and my dad would kill us. It’s a fucked up world and people will never understand what we have. So sorry if a get a bit jumpy when you touch me in public.” He could see the anger in his eyes but Mickey still couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He had way too much alcohol in him to keep shut.

“Fuck the others man. I’m tired of hiding. I’m angry that I can’t kiss my damn boyfriend whenever the fuck I want. I’m angry that I can’t touch you right now and tell you how much you mean to me and how happy I’ve been since that first time we kissed.” He looked at Ian who was standing with his back against the bar’s wall, near the door. “I also hate that I can’t tell you that I love you because that would be too much” He couldn’t keep it inside anymore. It was eating him alive. Ian wasn’t moving.

“I…I can’t do this right now Mickey. I….can’t” he said and went inside the bar again. There it was, he said it and now he scared him away. He knew it was a bad idea, he just knew it. He went after him. He saw him standing in the middle of the bar.

“Ian, I’m sorry I freaked you out. Can we please just talk about it?” he said and Ian turned to face him. He opened his mouth to say something when a loud bang came from the back of the bar. They both turned to see what was happening and saw that a man was on top of Frank beating the shit out of him. Mickey just looked at Ian and saw the expression on his face and he knew what he was thinking.

“Don’t you fucking dare go and help him, do you understand?” but it was too late. Ian ran towards his father, picked up a bottle and hit the other man in the head.

The other man fell on the floor and Ian jumped on him and started to beat him. A few seconds later Ian felt something hit him in the back. It was another man, maybe a friend of the one Ian was beating. He threw a chair on Ian’s back and Ian collapsed on the floor then got back up to punch the other man. Everything was like a nightmare. Mickey didn’t know what to do, should he fight too? But he didn’t even have time to think because someone called the police right when the fight started. They must have been right around the corner because they were already inside the bar, trying to stop the fight. Everything was a blur, Mickey saw as the police took Frank and Ian away, how they were trying to stop the other two men from jumping on Frank, everything was a blur. All he knew right now was that all the nice things he had these past few months were gone in a second. That was it, he was alone again. He was fucked.


	14. – Reunions and new beginnings –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had to be strong. That’s what Mandy kept telling him these past 2 months.

**Chapter 14 – Reunions and new beginnings –**

 

“Hey Mickey, are you coming today or not?” Mandy asked her brother who was standing on the couch with a beer in his hands. He was just staring at the tv.

“Yeah, I’m coming, even though I know I shouldn’t” he drank the remaining liquid in the can and then threw it towards the kitchen not caring where it landed.

It’s been 2 months since the incident at the bar, 2 months since Ian’s been in juvie and his dad in prison. They were going to pick him up, they were the only ones that cared. Mickey didn’t talk much with him after he got in, he went to see him 2 days after the arrest but Ian told him not to come anymore. Mandy still went, every week. She would tell Mickey what they talked about. Ian would always ask about Mickey and then he would tell her not to tell him anything they talked about. The first time, (and only one) Mickey was there he asked him why he did it. Ian wouldn’t answer, he said Mickey wouldn’t understand. That was rubbish. He would have, he wanted to, he just wanted to understand him. To know what he was thinking. They didn’t talk about what Mickey had told him that night. Ian never opened the subject so Mickey didn’t either. He didn’t understand why he was acting that way, why he would refuse to tell him what he felt. Mickey didn’t care what he was going to say, if he hated him: good, if he loved him: even better, if he only liked fucking him: that was ok too, but he needed to know where they stood. He was going crazy with all this ‘I’m not sure where we stand’ deal that Ian had going on. He just needed to know. But in these 2 months he decided that he wouldn’t ask him anymore questions, if he was going to act like nothing ever happened between them the fine, Mickey could play that game too. He was done trying to be the only one who fought for this stupid relationship.

They arrived at their destination and Mickey was starting to feel sick to his stomach. Not the food poisoning kind of sick but the ‘I have to see my boyfriend or ex-boyfriend after 2 months of not seeing him’ kind of sick.

“Calm down, ok? You should act normal, act like you don’t give a shit” Mandy told him. Good advice, if only he could put it in action.

He saw him, he was coming towards them. Damn, he still looked good. Fucking Gallagher. But he cleared his minds and concentrated on not throwing up.

“I have to say Ian, prison time suits you. You look better than when you got in” Mandy said and gave her friend a hug.

“Well what else is there to do here other than work out?” he asked her and smiled then looked at Mickey. What should he say?

“You could read a book or two” is the first thing Mickey said. Well that’s something, I guess.

“Read a…pff are you high or some shit? Since when do you think I like to read?” he asked with a smirk. So we’re back to the smirks? Great.

“Just saying Gallagher, you could expand your way of thinking that way, learn some shit”

“Listen to yourself, 2 month I’ve been gone and you already talking shit. Mandy, what did you do to him?” Mandy just laughed. It seemed more like a rhetorical question so she didn’t answer.

“You losers mind walking me to the diner? My shift starts in an hour and I should be getting there since where in the opposite part.” He asked the boys.

“Yeah, why not? It’s not like their expecting me home. I don’t even think they know I get out today.” Ian said. It was actually pretty sad, that they didn’t care. He was their brother after all.

“Sucks man. So your old man, when is he getting out?” Mickey asked to change the subject, well sort of, they were still on the family subject.

“In a few months. He got more cause well jail is jail and juvie is juvie. Thank god for that. A few months without that shit head is like paradise” at least that’s a good thing. The neighborhood was really better without Frank Gallagher there.

The three of them were walking and talking, mostly Mandy and Ian, occasionally Mickey would talk but he preferred to stay out of some subjects.

“So thanks guy for walking me here. Don’t forget, tomorrow’s your shift Mickey. And please don’t be late again, you know Andrew hates it when people are late.” She shouted as she walked to the entrance. They were left alone. This was going to be super fun.

“You work here now? How come?” Ian asked while they started to walk. Neither of them knew where.

“Yeah. About a month ago I was working on the inventory at the store when Kash came and asked how I was doing and then had the nerve to touch my leg. I freaked out and punched him and I told him that I quit. Just like that. I knew that the minute he would try some shit like that I would punch his shitty face in. A few days after that Mandy told me they needed a new busboy for the diner so o applied and got the job and that’s it.” He said casually while they walked, again, without knowing where. They were just walking.

“Wow, that sucks. Didn’t Linda ask you why you quit?”

“That’s the best part. Yeah, she called me the next day, asked why I left, told her that her husband is a fucking pedophile who liked to touch underage boys and that I’m never going back there. She said she understood, without asking any other questions and wished me good luck. About 2 weeks after, my sister sent me there to buy some shit, at first I didn’t want to go but then I say fuck it, I’m not a 10 year old girl so I went. He wasn’t there but Linda was.” He stopped to light a cigar. “I asked her how were things going and she said that Kash left her, just like that, after she caught him with some boy. He told her he couldn’t do this anymore and he just left. She asked if I wanted my job back but I told her no cause I like working at the diner” Ian didn’t say anything for about 2 minutes the started to laugh.

“Man that towel head is one crazy son of a bitch. Fucked up man. Anyways, it’s good that you found another place, you hated working there.”

“Don’t you have to find some job now that you’re out? I know a friend of mine had to when he got out of juvie.”

“Yeah man, I have to or else they will find one for me and I’ll end up working at the fucking meat packing plant.” Mickey just looked at him and said the dumbest thing.

“Well they are looking for another busboy, for the other shift. The last one had to quit because they were moving in another state.” He regretted it as soon as he finished the sentence.

 “I’ll check that out. Sounds ok enough. Beets losing a hand at whatever job they’ll find for me” when they stopped talking, they also stopped walking because for some reason, without even thinking it or talking about it they ended at the abandoned building. Ian looked at Mickey and wanted to say something but he said something first.

“Look man, I don’t know how we got here but I kind of have to go home, help Iggy with something. If you want to hang out tonight we can go have a beer or something, just call me. I still have the same number, ok?” he wasn’t actually lying, he did have to help Iggy just not now. But Ian didn’t know that.

“Yeah man, sure. I’ll text, or call I guess. See ya” It broke Mickey’s heart that he acted so cold but he didn’t want to be the vulnerable one, the one who always stepped up first. He had to do this or Ian would never learn that for a relationship to work both of them had to struggle.

“Yeah, see ya” Mickey said back and turned around.

The walk back home was horrible. Every few seconds he wanted to turn around and run back to him and tell him that he didn’t care he was such a stupid boy who couldn’t share his feelings. But no! He had to be strong. That’s what Mandy kept telling him these past 2 months.

 

* * *

 

 

He watched Mickey leave, a feeling made home in his stomach and refused to leave. He hated that feeling. He wanted to run after him and tell him that he’s sorry he reacted that way that night, that he wasn’t still sure what he felt because all of this was confusing for him, that he never was is a relationship before and he didn’t know how it all worked. He still needed time. He was scared about this but at the same time it was a good scare. He never felt this way with anyone before, for Mickey he did the most stupid things, he broke all his rules and he didn’t even care. Fuck those rules, they were stupid rules. He liked spending time with him and he wished the world wasn’t so fucked up so they could be together without people judging them. Maybe in time he won’t even care what people think and they could be happy together but he still had a lot of bridges to cross before getting there and he needed Mickey to cross them with him. He still had a lot of things to think about before he talked with Mickey about trying this again. He just started to walk home, maybe get some sleep or something, think this through and maybe tonight he would call Mickey and after that he’ll see what happens. 


	15. – Beating up muggers and laughing out loud –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class ended and they both gathered their things and started walking outside the class, Ian in front of Mickey. They continued to stay like that until they reached the gym. When they threw their backpacks on the ground Ian turned to Mickey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a shorter chapter because I'm really tired right now. I had a long day. I'll post more tomorrow :D

**Chapter 15 – Beating up muggers and laughing out loud –**

 

Mickey woke up the next morning feeling like shit. He barely slept because he kept thinking if he was going to see Ian around school. Probably not. He woke up, took a short shower, he ate breakfast with Mandy and his brothers and then left for school, Mandy right next to him.

“You know, Ian called yesterday a few hours after you guys left and told me that you said there was an opening for a busboy” she raised an eyebrow at him “told him there is and that he should come and talk to Andrew before someone else takes it”

“What did he say?” he tried to sound uninterested. He failed.

“That he’ll go there today, at 5. Told him I wouldn’t be there but that Andrew was. And as I recall, you’ll be there too. Why did you tell him about the opening? Thought you didn’t want to be near him for a while.”

“I don’t but who knows what shitty job he would get if his P.O. got it for him. I was just being nice.” Even he didn’t believe a word he was saying.

“Ok, we’ll go with that if you want but we both know it’s not true. I’m not gonna lecture you, but be careful, don’t you dare think that if he goes back to juvie or something else and breaks your pathetic little heart again I’ll be there to hear your complains again. You were a depressed crying baby for like a week. I’m not going through that again.”

“I went through that, you were just there next to me. You had no idea what I was feeling. It’s difficult for me to put myself out there like that and find that he actually never cared, or maybe he did but he’s too scared to do anything about it. Who the hell knows that, but I know what I’m doing this time around so don’t worry.” They kept walking and a couple of minutes later they arrived at school.

“You have Geography?” she asked him and he nodded.

“You think he’ll show up? Did he say something to you yesterday when he called?”

“Nope, just asked about the job. I don’t know if he is going to show or not. You’ll see when the class starts” he waved goodbye and left to her English class. He took a deep breath and entered the class. He was there. Fuck.

Mickey looked at Ian who wasn’t paying any attention to anyone. He was staring at his hands. Mickey made his way towards his spot, Ian still wasn’t looking. He looked sad and tired. He took a seat behind Ian, like last time. After a few seconds Ian turned around to face him.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?” he tried to sound casual.

“Are you sure you don’t mind if I work at the same place you work? Cause if it’s gonna be weird for you I can just look for something else.” Damn his pretty eyes, he missed his eyes.

“Yeah man, sure. Please, don’t make this awkward. I’m cool with it. You shouldn’t work at some shitty place. And besides, we won’t have the same shifts cause there really isn’t any use for 2 busboys at the same time in the diner, it’s not such a big place. We’ll be fine, ok?” Ian just nodded, smiled, said a weak “thanks” and then turned around again.

In the middle of the lesson Mickey felt his phone vibrating. He took it out and saw a text from Ian. That’s weird, he could just turn around. He read it –You wanna go for a smoke after this class?-. Should he? He thought about it for a few seconds then wrote a –yeah, sure- and pressed send. He was being weak again.

The class ended and they both gathered their things and started walking outside the class, Ian in front of Mickey. They continued to stay like that until they reached the gym. When they threw their backpacks on the ground Ian turned to Mickey.

“Look, I’m not going to make this difficult for you. I know what I did, what I didn’t do or say. I know I joined that fight just so I wouldn’t have to have that discussion with you. I was a coward and you deserve an answer. The truth is I don’t know what I fell or even who I am. I’m in a weird place right now and I think I need some time to think about everything. I really hope you understand and I really think you deserve an honest answer. You are a great guy and I know that. I need a bit of time to think about all this, about us. You deserve someone who gives a shit and right now I have to sort my shit before I complicate your life. I hope you understand and in the meantime we can still talk and shit. I really don’t want to lose you just because I’m a fucked up kid who can’t resolve his father issues.” Mickey never took his eyes of him while he talked. He felt a little relieved. He finally got an answer. It wasn’t the best one but at least he knew where they stood at that moment. For now, that will do.

“You better think that shit really well through because I’m not gonna wait for you sorry ass until we’re like 100 or some shit. This ain’t the fucking Titanic movie or some shit like that” Mickey knew very well how to turn a sad conversation into a comic one. Ian laughed a little at that. He felt relieved too.

“Wait, didn’t the guy die in that movie?”

“Who the hell cares firecrotch? It’s a fucking sad movie”

“So, our life is a sad movie eh?” he smirked. Mickey even missed that fucking smirk.

“Don’t get all cocky with me. Let’s just go before we miss any more classes. You must have a lot to catch up to after these 2 months” he got his backpack and Ian did the same

“Nothing I can’t manage” he responded. They both headed back to the building. Maybe things are gonna work out eventually.

 

* * *

 

 

“Dude, you couldn’t be more wrong. Start Trek is so much better than Star Wars” Mickey said to Ian as they were walking back from school.

“You are mental. Start Trek sucks in comparison. Name on thing that is cool about Start Trek”

“Well first of …” he was cut short when he heard a woman screaming at the top of her lungs.

They both looked on the other side of the road and saw that a woman was being mugged by some kid from the neighborhood. Mickey ran after the boy, caught with him, gave him a punch, took the purse from his hands and scared him away. He then proceeded to give the woman her purse back. She thanked him 100 times and even offered to pay him but he refused. She thanked him again and then left.

“Well I have to say Mickey, you are the new hero of the neighborhood. Shrimp Man to the rescue!” he said with a fake voice and then started to goof around by pretending to fly in circles around Mickey. The boy just laughed at the other boy and punched him in the arm.

“Cut it out man. It was a nice lady who couldn’t defend herself. What was I supposed to do? Go and help the kid? Maybe hit her in the head or something”

“Fine, fine. I won’t mention it again. But you would be kind of adorable in a cape, flying around and saving people” they started laughing in the middle of the street. They looked at each other after a few seconds, when they finally stopped laughing. Ian noticed how happy Mickey looked and how much he loved seeing him happy. He shook his head, he didn’t want Mickey getting the wrong idea if he saw him staring.

“So look man, I’ll see you at 5 ok? At the diner. Be there on time or you won’t get the job, ok?” Mickey asked just to change the subject

“Ok man. See you there at 5. Thanks again for this, I really appreciate. Bye”

“No problem man. See ya, bye” he took a last look at Ian before turning the other way and walked towards his house.

Things looked ok for now. He was trying to get used to the idea that for now he and Ian weren’t together. But hey, at least they were talking. He understood what Ian said to him, he felt a little confused too. They both needed this time to think everything through.


	16. – The annoying dude and the long ass speech –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was fucking mad, mainly at himself for being such a stupid prick. Why was he such a fucking bitch?

**Chapter 16 – The annoying dude and the long ass speech –**

 

“Get the fuck up assface. You’re gonna be late for your shift again.” Mandy yelled at her brother who fell asleep on the couch.

“God woman, I swear I am going to kill you in your sleep. I just took a fucking nap. I won’t be late, still have half an hour left, it takes me 15 minutes to get there. Fucking pshycho”

Mickey got up and started to get ready to leave for work. He quickly ate something and then left but not before he flipped Mandy off. Just so she knows how much he loves her. As he was walking to work he ran into some guy he knows from around the neighborhood. He was an ok guy but Mickey always thought he was way too friendly.

“Hey Mickey, where you heading?”

“Work” he wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

“Cool, where do you work?” well it seems he didn’t get that he wasn’t in the mood.

“At a diner” he really tried to hint the dude he wasn’t in the mood. Really man, get the fucking hint.

“Nice, want me to keep you company on your way. I’m kind of bored.” Dear Jesus.

“Well I don’t mind walking alone actually.” He should get it this time.

“Come on don’t be that way. I just want to get to know you better” now he’s smiling? Who the fuck does he think he’s talking to?

“Man, I really want to be alone, ok? I gotta go but I’ll see you around, ok?” he didn’t wait for a reply and turned around fast so the dude wouldn’t get another chance to talk. He didn’t care that he was being rude. He just wasn’t in the mood for desperate people. He got to the diner with 3 minutes to spare.

“Milkovich, you’re on time. This must be a miracle.” Andrew said and Mickey just flipped him. His boss laughed and continued to do whatever he was doing before Mickey arrived.

“By the way, tell your friend Ian that tomorrow he should come at 4 instead of 5, ok? And don’t forget” was he the messenger now too?

“Fine but I’m not your fucking messenger. You have a god damn phone. Use it once in a while.”

Work was boring, as usual. Cleaning tables wasn’t the best job in the world but at least it was a job. When he got of his shift he called Ian and told him to meet him in the park for a smoke. Mickey went to a store first and then to the park.

“Took you long enough” Ian said as Mickey got closer.

“Well not my fault the line at the store was fucking long. Who knew people still have money for groceries.” Ian laughed and then threw Mickey a beer. It was already dark outside but people were still in the park, chilling before going back home.

The boys were talking about their day, Mickey told Ian about work tomorrow, he nodded and said he would remember to show up at 4. They kept talking about a bunch of crap and laughed whenever a drunk guy would stumble past them. Man, people in this neighborhood were 90% drunks. They kept smoking and chilling when both Mickey and Ian heard a voice call Mickey’s name. They turned around.

“Didn’t know you like hanging around this area. I’ll take a note on that. What are you guys doing?” this guy again? Mickey was seriously getting annoyed with the bloke.

“Hey Mike, just here with Gallagher. We’re smoking and talking” he was seriously going to stay?

“Can I join or am I interrupting something?” his voice is so annoying. Ian didn’t seem to like that he was there either.

“Well, you aren’t interrupting but we were also just thinking about going home, right Mickey?” this time Ian answered much to Mickey’s surprise. Mike looked a bit weird at Ian and proceeded to say.

“Well I was sort of asking Mickey, maybe he wants to stay for a bit more. But you can leave if you want” Ian’s jaw dropped. Is this guy for real? Is he hitting on Mickey or what? The fuck he thinks he is? Mickey saw that Ian wasn’t very pleased with the answer so he stepped in.

“Ok, here’s the thing. Ian is right, we were going home and I don’t plan on staying. So stay if you want. See you another time, ok?” he really didn’t need to see Ian get mad or some shit like that. That boy had the temper of a fucking mountain lion.

“Well I’m sad that you keep avoiding me but I guess I can take a hint. See you another day” he waved and walked away. At least he wasn’t insisting. Mickey looked at Ian to see if he calmed down. The answer was no.

“Who the fuck does he think he is? Coming like that at people, uninvited.” Mickey smiled a little at his reaction.

“It’s a free country man. Why, are you jealous?”

“What? No, I’m not jealous. He was just annoying, that’s all. Why? Should I be?” he asked trying to sound cool.

“Don’t know man, you sure as hell don’t have the right. I mean, you said it, we are just friends for the moment, that you have to think about it. Maybe I like to keep my options open” he joked, but he said it in a serious tone just to fuck with the red head. It was working, that’s for sure because his face was as red as his hair.

“I know that. Just, he’s so …. So …. Ugly” Mickey almost fell off the bench laughing.

“That’s what you’re going with? That he’s ugly? Damn Gallagher you sure are funny. Calm down, ok? Don’t go killing the guy just because he talked to me for a fucking minute. Besides, I talk to whoever I want to and you can’t say shit, alright? The last part he said it with a more serious tone.

“I know, forget we even had this conversation, ok?”

“Well I might just have to because lately you ask me to forget all our conversations” the discussion was going in a new fucking direction.

“Fine, be this way. I’m going home. See you tomorrow, or not, see if a care” What the hell was up with him? Mickey didn’t get to say anything because Ian was already walking away. Fucking Gallagher and his mood swings. But Mickey couldn’t help but notice that Ian really was a bit jealous there. He smirked at that thought. That’s what he gets for being a fucking idiot and wanting too just be friends. After a minute he decided to go home as well. 

 

* * *

 

 

Ian got home and went straight to the bathroom. He closed the door and then threw something into the wall. He needed to throw something. He was fucking mad, mainly at himself for being such a stupid prick. Why was he such a fucking bitch? It was just a dude talking to another dude, wasn’t it? No, it wasn’t, it was a dude talking to his dude. Stupid Mike and his stupid face. Why the fuck didn’t he do something about it there? Why didn’t he tell Mickey that he was sick of thinking things through? Because he was. It’s been 3 weeks since he got out of juvie and since he started work. It’s been 3 weeks with just hanging out with Mickey. 3 weeks without kissing him even though he was so close to him every day. 3 weeks without touching him. He was so stupid. He didn’t need time, why the fuck should he need time to know what he already knew that night at the bar. When he heard Mickey say that, he wanted to say it back so bad but he was scared, as usual. He was always fucking scared. He wanted to look like a thug all the time but deep inside he was a scared little cat. Fucking pathetic.  He doesn’t need to think anything through, he only needs him. He wanted to leave the bathroom but he turned around and looked in the mirror, he saw his pathetic face and threw the first thing that was around, he threw in in that fucking reflection. The mirror smashed into pieces. He opened the door, walked out and went down the stairs.

“What the hell was that?” Fiona asked from the couch. She and Steve were watching tv.

“Nothing, I broke the mirror. I’m going out.” He said and walked out the door not wanting to give more explanations.

He walked straight to Mickey’s house. He knew that no one was home besides him and Mandy. Their brothers and father were out of town, some family emergency. All the way there he kept asking himself what was he thinking when he said he needed to think about this? What was there to think? Of course he loved him. Why wouldn’t he? He was the only thing in his life that made sense. Mickey understood him, he loved him even though he was a good for nothing loser. He was always putting up with his bullshit and with his drama. He was far from a normal person but Mickey didn’t mind that. Mickey was a fucking good person. He was. Before he knocked on the door his last thought was “I just hope I’m not too late”. He knocked.

“What are you doing here firecrotch? Something happen?” Mickey asked surprised

“Do you have a minute? I need to tell you something? Could we talk in you room?” he was very nervous.

“Uhm yeah sure, come inside, Mandy fell asleep on the couch so try not to wake her. It’s very quiet here without her annoying voice.” They walked carefully to Mickey’s room and closed the door behind them.

“So what’s so important that couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” Mickey asked as he took a seat.

“So, I’m gonna talk and I would like you to listen, ok?” Mickey nodded. “I’m a fucking idiot. I was always a fucking idiot. All I ever did in my entire fucking life was to please that son of a bitch I have as a father. And why you may ask? Because I’m weak, I’m a fucking coward. I’m always scared of him, what he might think or do. I never did anything good or useful. I always fucked up. I never had anything worth fighting for, anything good in my life. But then you came along. I knew since that day we first started hanging out with Mandy that you weren’t going to be like the rest. At first I only wanted to torment you a little, to annoy you. But you somehow got into my head. I kept seeing you everywhere when you weren’t around and it scared me. Then you kissed me and my brain went crazy from there on. I never had that with anyone else, never. Not one of the other guys I’ve been with, or girls, had this much power over me. I guess that scared me too. But it felt so natural at the same time. You were the only thing that made sense. Then you told me you loved me and I freaked out yet again. Like the horse shit that I am. Made that stupid decision that it was a better idea to get into a fight than just talk to you. Then after I got out I was scared again and I did the next stupid thing and said I needed time to think this through. But I didn’t need time. I knew, ever since that night when you said it, I knew. And today, I was scared again, scared that maybe I let too much time to pass and now you were moving on, and I wouldn’t blame you for doing so. I deserve it. Look I know that maybe I’m not making a lot of sense here, I’m talking like a crazy person who forgot to take his meds. All I’m trying to ask you is if you could maybe give me another chance. Maybe you still care about me but at the same time I understand if you don’t want to. But I do love you. I really do. Please forgive me” Mickey didn’t move at all. He just looked at him. They stayed like that for about 3 minutes. Ian understood that that meant Mickey wasn’t going to forgive him so he just nodded and turned around.

“Wait” his voice was not loud but Ian heard him. He stopped and turned around.

Mickey was now in front of him. He looked up at the taller boy. They weren’t moving again.

“That was a long ass speech firecrotch.” Ian was about to say something but Mickey decided that a kiss would be a better idea. Ian agreed.

“Lock that door” Mickey said after breaking the kiss.

“Since when do you have a lock on the door?” Ian asked surprised.

“Do you really want me to tell you the story of how I went and bought a fucking lock for my door?” he asked and started to take his shirt off. Ian saw that and proceeded to lock the door, turned back around and threw his own shirt on the ground. They didn’t care if Mandy heard them again, she can go sleep outside is she wanted to. They had stuff to do.


	17. – Breakfast, jokes and serious discussions –

**Chapter 17 – Breakfast, jokes and serious discussions –**

 

Mickey opened his eyes the next morning and looked at the owner of the red messy hair that slept next to him. He smiled at the boy and then got up. After the usual morning rituals, he made some coffee and breakfast. He was happy his family was away for the weekend and they could finally spend some time together.

When Ian delivered his speech the other night Mickey didn’t know what was cuter: the fact that Ian was blushing and was struggling to find his words or the fact that he got so jealous at a guy who barely addressed Mickey a few words. At first he wasn’t sure if he should forgive Ian right away, maybe make him wait for a few days, it was fair considering he made Mickey wait so long, but after a few minutes, when he saw Ian getting ready to leave it hit him; If he made Ian wait a few more days, that meant a few more days of torture. He missed that bastard so much it actually hurt his guts. He would literally feel sick to the stomach when he thought about it. It was really weird how much power a single person had over him. How can someone love another so much after just a few months? How is that even possible? He understood how it was with family, you grow up together, you love them because they are part of you, they are your blood. But just a few months with the most moody person he knows and bam, he’s in love. That wasn’t a problem, of course. Since he was with Ian he was a different person, not bad different, just different. He never understood him before he got to know him. He always thought he was a heartless boy who followed father’s rules. He learned that he was a scared boy who followed father’s rules because his father was a mental case who didn’t love his children. He fed them abuse instead of love. He fucked up all their lives. Ian doesn’t think he can ever be a normal person but Mickey wasn’t so sure of that. He knew life wasn’t perfect, that when things go wright for a long time something bad always has to happen, he knew that but he also knew that after things go wrong for a long period of time something good has to happen. Life was like that and he accepted it. His thoughts got the best of him because he didn’t hear Mandy sneaking behind him so naturally she scared the shit out of him when she yelled and tickled him from behind.

“God damn it you foul creature from hell. How many times do I have to tell you to not scare me like that when I’m near the stove? You want me to get burned?” he screamed at his sister who was laughing hysterically.  

“Calm down ass face. I was just having some fun, well not as much as you two had” she winked at the blushing boy. He just rolled his eyes.

“So, this means your back together or what?” of course this was going to be the first topic this morning on the ‘Let’s have awkward morning conversations with Mandy Milkovich’ show.

“Yeah, I guess so, but I don’t want to talk about it yet, until I talk to Ian too.”

“But didn’t you talk already?”

“Well he did the talking, a long speech actually but after that there wasn’t so much talking involved” his face was red again.

“I should know. You were pretty damn loud if I may add. I woke up on the couch thinking someone was being murdered. It took me a few seconds to realize. You two are freaks” she said and threw a piece of bread at Mickey. He just raised an eyebrow at that gesture.

“Are all your mornings so chatty or is today a special occasion?” they both turned around and saw a sleepy freckled boy with hair so messy you’d think World War 3 was taking place on top of his head. Mickey couldn’t help but smile at that view. He was adorable.

“Omg you slept over??? I just thought you left some time last night. Since when do you sleep over?” Mandy asked. She was being hysterical and annoying. Ian just laughed

“Do I have to report this to you? Are you keeping tabs or something?” he asked playfully.

“Well I might just have to make you pay rent if this becomes something regular” she winked again

“It won’t. The rest of the family doesn’t know. I can’t just keep sleeping here whenever I feel like it” Ian said and took a seat at the table. There was already a plate in front of him.

“Eventually I’m gonna tell my brothers. I have to. It’s not fair that I keep lying to them. I think they’ll understand.” Mickey said and Mandy nodded. Their family wasn’t like Ian’s. They never picked on someone for being gay or shit like that. But that didn’t make this less hard for Mickey. It was still a huge secret to tell.

“Your family might understand but if I go and tell dad all I’ll get is a bullet to the head. Lucky me. I am blessed.” He said and then planted a fake smile. This made Mickey sad.

“You don’t have to tell them squat. Not now anyways. We’ll figure this problem too. Now, let’s just eat ‘cause I’m starving” he changed the subject.

They started to talk about nonsense while they ate. Mickey made a lot of coffee but they managed to drink it all. They were having a great time. Ian was laughing, something Mickey saw very rarely since he got back from juvie. They were really enjoying themselves. But there was still things Mickey needed to talk to Ian about and it had to be now.

“Mandy, will you excuse us? I have to ask Ian something important. We’ll just be in my room.” He said and that got Ian’s attention. He knew they had to talk because what happened last night wasn’t exactly a serious discussion. He nodded at Mickey and got up. Mandy nodded too. She said she would clean the kitchen a little. The boys made their way to Mickey’s room.

 

* * *

 

 

“So” Ian said and took a seat. Mickey did the same.

“Yeah. We still have things to talk about” Mickey started to say.

“I know.” Ian smiled

“So, what you said last night was sweet, messy, but sweet. I do understand. I really do, but at the same time you have to know that your decisions affected me in a bad way. I know you were confused, fuck I’m confused 90% of the day, but what you decided to do just because you were scared of facing me, us, that hurt me. I was really hurt that you thought it was a better idea to go to juvie rather than talk to me about your feelings. At first I never wanted to talk to you again, it took a lot of will power not to punch you when we went to pick you up. I just wanted to punch you and make you suffer a little too. You left me just like that. I told you I loved you and you chose to go to juvie. That was fucked up for me. I thought I wasn’t good enough, that I did something wrong. Look, I’m not turning this into a fight or something, just wanted to tell you how I felt then. I really understand your side of the story too. You have it worse than I do. Your family sucks balls man. Well not the little ones, they seem cool, but you dad and sometimes your brother and sister, they can be real jerks. Although your dad wins the medal here. He fucked you bad man. But I believe that together we can get through this, somehow we’ll manage. I just know it. You have your flaws and I have mine but that doesn’t mean we have to be apart. I really missed you. I love you”

“Now look who’s giving the long speech” Ian joked and Mickey laughed louder than he should have

“On a more serious note: I missed you too and I love you. I really do. It took me so long to finally say it because I am a stupid person. I always let the fear talk for me. He made sure that I am forever scared of doing things he doesn’t approve of. It will always hunt me, I know that but I also know that I have to try and step up for myself more often when he’s around. Maybe I’ll try and tell Fiona and Lip about me being gay while he’s still in jail. It won’t be long before he’s out again. Maybe if they back me up, maybe I’ll have the guts to confront him.”

“Are you sure telling them is a good idea? I don’t really trust them” Mickey asked and grabbed Ian’s hand. The red head smiled calmly at the other boy.

“I know them, they wouldn’t kill me. They might not like the idea but they would never tell dad or do something to me. Trust me, ok?” Mickey nodded.

“You want to tell them now?”

“Oh God no. I’m not gonna waste this weekend on drama. I would much rather spend it with you” he smirked and leaned in for a small kiss. Mickey smiled after that and gestured Ian to lock the door. The tall boy did as he was told.

Mandy heard the door being locked and just rolled her eyes and sighed. She knew what that meant so she went to her room and took her iPod and her headphones and blasted the music at the highest volume. This was going to be a great weekend, for some people anyways.


	18. – The truth and a rainy Sunday –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -Call me when you can, I have news-

**Chapter 18 – The truth and a rainy Sunday –**

 

It was Sunday evening, it was raining and Mickey wasn’t in the mood for anything. Ian left about an hour ago. They spent the weekend together, Mandy was there too but they were too occupied with each other to notice her very often. She didn’t mind, she enjoyed her weekend just as much as the boys did, well, maybe not exactly as much as the boys did but close. The 3 of them had the house for themselves and it was great. But Sunday afternoon came and so did the rest of the Milkoviches. Ian was still there, no one knew he slept there since Friday, of course. They just figured he came a few hours ago. Mickey wanted to tell his brothers that he was gay. Yes, he was a little scared but at the same time he knew they wouldn’t care. Still, it was a big step to take, but he had to do it sooner than later. He needed to have a place he could spend time with Ian without having to hide. His house seems the only place that could be ok for now. His dad wasn’t home that much lately. He was staying at Sheila’s house, he came home whenever he needed money or something but that happened very rarely lately. So if he would tell his brothers about him and Ian and make them promise not to tell, then they would finally have a place where they could be themselves. If only he could get his butt up from this couch and go talk to them. He took a deep breath and got up. They were all seated at the table. He cleared his throat and they all looked at him.

“I have something to tell you lot. Just promise me you’ll keep an open mind about it, ok?” he was very nervous

“Actually bro, before you go we want to tell you something too. We were really thinking about how to tell you. Can we go first?” Jamie said and Mickey nodded. At least he wasn’t the only nervous one.

“Me and Tony found a place, not far from here and we are moving out on Monday. We don’t want you to think that we’ll stop helping you guys, we’ll still pitch in with what we can so don’t worry. We hope you and Mandy won’t mind, we know Iggy doesn’t, we already talked to him when we showed him the apartment.” Mickey was a little surprised. He wasn’t mad, why would he be? They were old enough to do whatever they wanted.

“Wow that’s great guys. I’m really happy you finally found a place. Besides, I was getting kind of bored with your faces here every day. Glad to see you go” he joked and Jamie laughed while Tony pretended to look hurt. He gave in eventually and laughed as well.

They were all coughed up in this subject, how far was the apartment, how much was the rent, when could Mickey and Mandy see it. They were describing the 2 bedroom apartment to the kids, it seemed big enough for the 2 of them, the rent wasn’t ridiculously high and they were pretty close to their jobs. They almost forgot Mickey had something to say as well. Iggy remembered.

“What about you Mick, you were going to say something too” everyone stopped talking and they all looked at him. Mandy looked at her brother, gave him an encouraging smile and nodded. He took a deep breath again.

“I’m gay”

“Well about fucking time brother. We were all wondering when you’ll have the guts to tell us.” Iggy said and smiled. They weren’t mocking him. Mickey was in shock.

“You all knew? How come everybody knew? Then why not tell me that you know?” was he really that obvious? Now he wondered who else knew.

“Well it was your secret to tell when you felt ok with it. And besides, I knew the Gallagher boy was gay, a buddy of mine told me a few years ago, he asked me to take it to my grave or Gallagher will kill him, so I didn’t tell anyone until you started hanging out with him and you seemed happy all of the sudden and then when he went to juvie you were sad again. I made the connection, I’m not stupid. One night Jamie and Tony asked me why you were so depressed and then I told them my theory. They agreed to stay quiet until you decide to tell us.” Iggy left Mickey with his mouth open again. The fuckers knew all along.

“And you’re ok with it?”

“With you being gay, yes. About you and Ian? I personally don’t know what you see in that idiot, but if he makes you happy, I’m not going to be the one to step between the 2 of you. Just be careful, you know where we live. You guys can do whatever you want in this house, just be careful outside” Mickey felt like mountain was lifted from his chest. He could breathe again.

“Thanks guys, for everything, I meant it. I’ll call Ian and tell him” he felt like a little school girl, all giggly and happy.

He looked for his phone and when he found it he decided to text him, just in case he couldn’t answer.

-Call me when you can, I have news- Send

 

* * *

 

 

Ian left Mickey’s house in the evening. He felt sad and wet. Sad because he had to leave after a perfect weekend and wet because it was raining like hell. But he didn’t run, he walked slowly, he really didn’t want to go back home. Last time he was there he destroyed the bathroom and left without an explanation. His father wasn’t there but he still had to explain that to Fiona. He eventually arrived home, sighed and then went inside.

“Ian, where have you been? You broke that mirror, left without a word and then disappeared for the weekend. We thought you were dead or something” Lip said when he saw his wet brother stand near the couch

“Well I don’t see any search party here so I’m gonna take a wild guess and say you didn’t really think I was dead. It’s not like the first time I left for a couple of days. I had some things to take care of. I’m ok now.”

“What about work? Did you go there?” Lip asked

“The diner is closed until Monday for some reparations. I was supposed to go on Saturday at 4 but Andrew called me at about 2 o’clock to tell me not to come because some pipes exploded and they had to close for the weekend.” Lip nodded.

“Where’s everyone else anyways?” Ian asked looking around the empty living room.

“The kids are upstairs and Fiona went to see dad” he said and looked at his feet. He knew Ian was the only one who didn’t visited Frank in prison. He knew Ian didn’t want to see his face.

“I’ll go say hi to the kids” Ian said letting out the visiting dad part. Lip nodded again.

“Ian, you’re back. I’ve missed you” Debbie jumped him as soon as he went inside her room. He smiled and ruffled her hair a bit.

“I’ve missed you too Debs. How’s Liam, Carl?” he asked

“In your room, dunno what they’re doing” she said and resumed what she was doing. Ian nodded and went to his room next.

“Damn Ian, I thought you were going to be gone for a week again. Where were you?” Carl asked from his bed. Liam was playing with something on the ground.

“I had some stuff to take care off.” He smiled. Carl just nodded. He wasn’t the type to ask more questions than needed. Ian appreciated that.

An hour and a half later Fiona arrived, gave Ian a slap to the back of his head, told him to never do that again, he nodded and then she changed the subject. Fiona knew something bothered Ian but she didn’t pressure him to tell her what it was. He would do that whenever he wanted.

“Saw dad today” she said and looked at Ian, he just shrugged his shoulders so she continued “He still has a few more months.” Ian just nodded. He really didn’t care. Glad the bastard wasn’t coming home soon. It was just the 2 of them downstairs. Lip went out and the kids were all in their rooms. He looked at Fiona and the said

“I’m gay” he closed his eyes and waited for the scream but he only thing he heard was a calm

“I know” he opened his eyes and saw her looking at him, a smile plastered on her face. It was a gentle smile.

“You do? How long?”

“For some years I think. Don’t worry, never told a soul. Not even Lip. I don’t think he knows though. You tell him when you want.”

“What about dad?”

“You think I would tell dad? Ian, we may not be the most loving family, but I would never in a million years tell dad this. Even though I don’t show it, I love you, you know that right?” she grabbed his hand with hers.

“I know. Love you too Fiona. Thanks, for this” he smiled. Ian never had a deep conversation with his siblings so he wasn’t accustomed with this kind of reaction.

“So, is there someone?” she asked with a smile. At first he hesitated, but then he thought it was safe to tell her.

“Yeah, Mickey” he looked at his hands

“Thought so, just wasn’t sure enough” she giggled and got up from her seat.

“Just be careful out there, the two of you, it’s a dangerous neighborhood” with that she went up the stairs. Ian was a little happy, at least one more person understood him. He felt his phone vibrate.

The text said -Call me when you can, I have news-

He smiled at that, he had news too. He searched for his number and called. He picked up after a few rings

“That was fast, I thought you would be busy or something. You got home ok?” Came Mickey’s voice from the other line

“Yes, I just had a talk with Fiona. Told her everything. She already knew. She always knows stuff” he laughed

“Well that’s funny cause I told my brothers and they also knew. Every single one of them. They said we could stay here all we want. Also, Jamie and Tony are moving out, so more space for us”

“Well today has to be the day for good news.”

“Yeah, what do you say if Monday after your shift you come and sleep at my place? We can go to school from here in the morning.”

“Sound’s great Mick. Wanna go for a smoke? I know I only left a few hours ago, but I’m bored and it stopped raining.”

“Sure thing. Meet me at the park in 10?”

“Yeah. See you there. I love you” it was the first time he said it over the phone. It was really weird.

“I love you too” Ian could hear the smile in his tone. He smiled too. It felt great to hear someone say that to you.


	19. – The best month of their lives and the worst day –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past month has been the best for Mickey Milkovich. Ian Gallagher made him happy, genuinely happy. They got to spend as much time together as they wanted. School was going great, work as well. Even Iggy seemed to get along great with Ian. Everything was great, as great as things can be in this neighborhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! This chapter has a lot of violence!  
> Also, there will only be 2 more chapters after this one. I can't stretch this story more without making it boring so I would rather end it before it gets boring. Don't despair, the story won't end like this chapter :D

**Chapter 19 – The best month of their lives and the worst day –**

 

The past month has been the best for Mickey Milkovich. Ian Gallagher made him happy, genuinely happy. They got to spend as much time together as they wanted. School was going great, work as well. Even Iggy seemed to get along great with Ian. Everything was great, as great as things can be in this neighborhood.

Up until this morning everything was great, they felt great. It all started with a text and it ended with a bang. All Mickey could think about as he was lying on the ground unable to move was that sentence he always used to say when something happened: when things go wright for a long time something bad always has to happen. He kept saying that in his head over and over again as he tried to move but couldn’t. Mickey had been caught off guard when someone hit him in the back making it hard for him to breathe so when that person started kicking him he couldn’t defend himself. Ian tried to help but the other two grabbed him and started to beat him hard. He could barely breathe as he looked at Ian who was being held by one person and kicked by another. Ian was trying hard to fight back but he couldn’t get his hands freed. There was no one there to help them. After what seemed like a lifetime Mickey heard them arguing about something then he heard police sirens. They started to run away but not before hitting Mickey in the head again with something heavy. It all went black.

 

**10 hours earlier**

“Ian, get your ass out of bed. Let’s eat something and drink some coffee” Mickey pleaded but Ian refused to move.

“What the fuck’s wrong with you?” he asked the red head who was looking down at his phone.

“Fiona texted me” his voice was low and shaky and it scared Mickey.

“What could she have possibly said to make you look like this?”

“Dad’s getting out”

Mickey froze into place. It took him a few seconds to come back to earth and went next to Ian in bed. He could almost feel his dinner trying to come back up from his stomach.

“How? I thought he still had at least 3 more months”

“Overcrowding or some shit like that” this wasn’t happening. They knew he would eventually get out but they thought they would at least have a few more months of freedom before that happened.

“Shit, look, we’ll manage. You won’t be able to sleep as much over here but we’ll manage, ok?” Ian nodded but Mickey knew this wasn’t going to make him feel better. Frank being back didn’t mean just that Ian will spend less time at Mickey’s, it meant he had to go on runs again, selling drugs and what not. His dad wouldn’t allow him not to do that.

As they tried to eat some breakfast Mickey thought of ways they could run away, maybe to another city or something. They could run, find some place far away and stay there. They could work any job, they would sleep anywhere for the time being, until they found something more stable. But what about Mandy and Iggy? He didn’t want to leave them behind. He could never ask Mandy to leave everything behind and just run. What about school? He threw his fork in a fit of rage and got up from the table. Nobody said anything, they already knew what was happening. Ian looked hopelessly at Mickey and asked him if he was ok at which he just nodded. But he wasn’t. He was sick of that bastard always ruining everything. He went into his room and kicked the door shut. Ian followed a minute later.

“I know this isn’t the best news but you are right, we’ll manage this. I’ll just stop helping him so much. He still has Lip and Fiona, they should be enough.” Mickey just laughed

“Do you really think he’ll take no for an answer? You used to tell me that whenever you said you didn’t want to help with a run he would pistol-whip you. Now is that what you want?” Ian shook his head and got closer to the smaller boy. He kissed him on his forehead.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I’ll figure a way out of this mess, ok? I’ll see. For now, I have to go over there, see what Fiona has to say, ok?” No, it was not ok but Mickey still nodded. He didn’t want Ian to go over there but he also didn’t want to start a fight.

He watched as the boy got dressed and as he walked out of the house. He got very nervous when the door closed behind the red head. He hoped he would be back soon.

 

* * *

 

Ian got home a few minutes later. He entered and saw Fiona in the kitchen. She gave him a faded smile as he took a seat at the table.

“So I guess you got my text”

“Yeah, great way to start the day. When is he getting back?”

“In a few hours. Lip’s picking him up. You sure you want to be here when he gets back? I could tell him you’re out of town for a few days or something” he smiled at his sister. They were never this close before. He was glad he could finally have someone in this family that he could talk to.

“Actually that wouldn’t be that bad. I can sort some things until then, prepare for what’s coming cause you never know with that psycho.” They both laughed

“Thanks Fiona, I really appreciate this” he gave her a hug

“No problem kid. You want my advice?” he nodded “Run from this place. Get some money, take Mickey and just leave. Leave and never turn around. There’s nothing here for the two of you. You’ll never be happy as long as he’s around.” He looked at her and saw that she had a few tears on her cheeks. He just nodded again and hugged her once more.

“And Ian, if you do run, don’t come back for anything, ever. We’ll be fine.” She kissed him on the forehead. He looked at her again and smiled then exited the house. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad plan. They should just run away, as far as possible.

He got back to Mickey’s house and was greeted with a hug. The raven haired boy hugged the living soul out of him. He chuckled and gave him a kiss.

“He’s not home yet you twat” he said laughing.

“Oh excuse me for caring. When does he get back?”

“In a few hours. Lip’s picking him up. I had a talk with Fiona.” Mickey just looked at him and made a face that insinuated he should tell him what they talked about.

“She said we should run away and never come back” he waited for a response

“I was thinking the same thing this morning but then I remembered I can’t leave Mandy here.”

“We could bring her with us” Ian suggested

“What about school? She should finish school”

“She can register somewhere else”

“It’s not that simple Ian. We should think this through”

“No you shouldn’t. Ian’s right, you should leave now, while you still can. Face it Mick, you’ll never be happy here. I’ll be fine, I still have Iggy and the rest of the lot, even if they don’t live in the house anymore. After I finish school I’ll come live with you two, make your lives hell again” they turned around when she started talking. By the time she stopped talking Mickey could feel a lump in his throat.

“Can we talk about this later? I need to think about it” Ian and Mandy nodded as Mickey left to his room.

“You think he’ll do it? Actually leave?” Ian asked the girl next to him.

“For you? He’d travel the world barefoot. He just needs some time to think about it. He’ll do it. It’s not like he’s leaving me in the street. He knows Iggy will be here to help like he always was. I’m not going to judge him for wanting to get out of this shit-hole.”

“Thanks, for saying that” he smiled at the girl and hugged her

“You could go to New York or something like that. You wouldn’t have to hide there. Yes, some people will still judge you but not as much as here. You could actually be happy there” he smiled. It was a good idea. He decided to go see what Mickey was doing.

“Can I come in?” he said as he knocked on the bedroom door.

“Yes” he opened the door and saw Mickey sitting on the bed

“Should we really do this? Just run away? Could we manage on our own?” he has questions and it was only normal

“Yes, I think we can and we should. We can go to New York, I always wanted to live there” Mickey smiled at the freckled boy next to him. It all sounded good.

They stayed there talking, making plans, how to get some money, how to get there. After a few hours they decided to watch some tv, maybe relax a little. Mandy had work today and Iggy was with their brothers. They had the house to themselves. They decided they would leave in two days, just after they got some money. Mickey was lying on Ian’s lap while the taller boy played with his black hair. They heard the door open but they thought it must me Iggy so they didn’t bother getting up. As it turned out it wasn’t Iggy but Frank and 2 other guys who were standing there looking at the two boys like they just saw a horror scene.

“Well, well, Carl told me you would be here but I never thought it was because of this. The fuck is this? You two are faggs or something?” they jumped from the couch as soon as he started talking. They both looked at him and felt like their whole worlds were going down.

“So what if we are? What’s it to you?” Ian dared to ask. That made his father light up with anger.

“You aren’t even denying it? No son of mine is a cock sucking bitch” he yelled and made his way to his son. Mickey stepped in front of Ian but he was pulled by one of the other guys who then hit him hard in the back and he felt his breath leave his lungs.

Then the guy proceeded to punch him in the stomach and then in the face. He could barely move. He looked over towards Ian and he could see that the 3rd man was holding him by the hands from behind and Frank was hitting him hard in the abdomen. He tried to help but the big brute grabbed him again and hit him on the back of his head. He fell on his knees and then he felt another kick in the stomach. That made him fall on the floor. He was hopeless, he couldn’t move, he could only watch as Ian was being hit by his own father and he couldn’t even help. The two animals were killing him and he couldn’t do anything about it. The man hit him again in his right side which made him yell in pain. He heard him laugh and calling him all sorts of names, one uglier than the other. He felt like he was in hell, nothing could save them now. Frank stopped for a moment, Ian was still awake but he could barely move. Then all of the sudden he heard police sirens and the 3 men started to panic. They said they had to run. One of them hit Mickey in the head again with a gun and he passed out. They ran in Mickey’s room and then out the window as fast as they could leaving a barely conscious Ian and a passed out Mickey on the floor of the Milkovich house.


	20. – Doctors, nurses and police officers –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That mother fucking asshole. I’ll find that excuse for a human being and I’m going to kill him. I swear I’m going to kill his sorry ass. That fucking imbecile”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Atention! A bit of violence in this one too! 
> 
> So the next chapter will be the last one :D  
> Enjoy :D

**Chapter 20 – Doctors, nurses and police officers –**

 

“What do you mean he’s in a coma?” Ian yelled from his hospital bed. He had just woken up after almost a day of sleeping. He was in a horrible state but somehow Mickey was worse.

“Ian, try and calm down or you’ll rip your stitches” Mandy said and touched his shoulder

“I don’t care about the fucking stitches. Why is he in a fucking coma?”

“He got hit in the head a lot and they said they had to induce a coma until the swelling from his brain disappears. He’s going to be ok Ian, trust me. You were also hurt really bad. One of them cut you with a knife and you lost a lot of blood. You could have died.”

“I don’t care what happened to me because it’s not me who’s in a fucking coma. He’s there because of me. I always do shit like this to him. I always get him hurt.” He started crying and he didn’t care that one of the nurses gave him a pity look.

“That’s not true Ian. Frank is the one who put him there and guess what? He did the same to you, his own son. How is that your fault?” she was making a point but Ian refused to hear it

“That’s just it, the fact that he is my father is the reason all of this happened. I never should have dragged Mickey into all this shit. He was better before he met my sorry ass” he threw himself back on his back because he was getting tired of sitting up.

“You know that’s not true Ian. You didn’t drag him anywhere. He loves you for who you are and he doesn’t care who your father is. He’s going to be fine Ian.” she gave him a sweet smile and touched his hand and then squeezed it

“Stop trying to pin this on you. It’s Frank’s fault and that it. Not yours”

“How did the police arrive there anyways” he asked after a few minutes of silence

“I called them. I was getting home early from my shift and when I heard the noise from the house I ran, saw what was happening and I called 911 right away. I wouldn’t have helped by trying to break the fight. I may be tough but I’m not THAT tough. They got there pretty quick, the ambulance as well. Mickey was unconscious, you were barely aware of what was happening. Blood was everywhere around the house floors, it was pretty disgusting.” She laughed a little

“Well sorry for bleeding on floor. Won’t happen again. Next time I’ll bring a plastic cover to put on the floor before the fight” he joked and tried not to laugh.

“But are you sure he’s going to be fine? I wanna go see him”

“You are not allowed to get up for now, the doctor said so. You can see him when you’re better. For now, I’ll just inform you when I know something new.” When she finished talking there was a knock on the door and Fiona entered followed by Carl, Debbie and Lip.

“Ian, you’re awake. Thank God, we were worried sick” Fiona said as she threw her bag on the floor and went to hug him.

“Where is that son of a bitch? Did the police caught him?” he didn’t even say hello, not like he cared

“No, he ran away with those 2. The police said by the time they got inside the house they managed to run out the window from Mickey’s room” he felt the rage boil inside of him like a kettle that you forget on the stove for a very long time.

“That mother fucking asshole. I’ll find that excuse for a human being and I’m going to kill him. I swear I’m going to kill his sorry ass. That fucking imbecile”

“The thing is no one even knows what happened. If it hasn’t for Mandy we wouldn’t have known who they were. Could have been anyone. Why did dad do this to you?” Lip asked all of the sudden making his presence known.

“Before I begin to say anything just wanted to let the rest of you know” he said and gesture towards Lip. Debbie and Carl “that I am gay. I really don’t care what you have to say about it or whatever.” The 3 of them didn’t seem to care so he continued “I was sitting with Mickey on the couch and he was in my lap. We were watching tv when Frank came in. At first we didn’t look to see who it was because we thought it was Iggy. Then he started to talk, called us all sorts of names and insults. Then all hell broke loose.  I don’t remember much after that, it was all a blur.” He finished and then looked at his hand. His knuckles were in a horrible state.

“But my question is, who the fuck told him where I was because as I recall, Fiona, you said you were going to tell him I was out of town for a few days” he gave her a look that could scare Satan himself.

“I swear to God Ian, he never asked me where you were. He just said he was meeting with some friends of his, never told me where he went, I would have never told him, I promised you” she felt very bad for what happened but she really didn’t say a word.

“It was me. Sorry, I overheard you saying you were going to Mickey’s, I didn’t know for what and when he asked me where you were I just told him. I swear, if I knew you were gay and that Mickey is your boyfriend I would have never told him, I’m sorry Ian” everyone looked over at Carl who was feeling very guilty. Now Ian felt bad for talking like that. Shit, he was just a kid who answered his father’s question because he was scared of him, like the rest of them were.

“Carl, it’s not your fault, ok? I know you wouldn’t do this on purpose.” He calmed himself as he talked. The kid didn’t need more scaring. Carl nodded.

“How’s Mickey?” Lip asked

“He’s in a coma. Doctors say it will help him, make him recover quicker. I just hope he’ll wake soon” Mandy answered, Lip smiled at her and nodded.

They all remained silent for a few minutes because none of them knew what else to say. The Ian broke the silence.

“If I find him, I’m gonna kill him” Fiona looked at him and then said

“Do you really think that killing him is going to solve anything? Really Ian? You going to jail for God knows how long will make things better? Think about it, what will Mickey do? You think he would want to see you behind bars for that son of a bitch? Look, we’ll find him and then call the cops on him when we know where he is. He’ll get a lot of prison time for this and for the fact that he broke parole. This is attempted murder not just a bar fight. Just don’t ruin your life for that pathetic ass-whole.” Fiona finished and they all nodded. Ian knew she was right but he was scared that if he found him he couldn’t control himself. He hated him so much.

 

* * *

 

 

**3 days later**

Ian was feeling better, he could walk now. He was in Mickey’s room all day long, he wanted to be moved there with him but the doctors kept telling him that he couldn’t stay in Intensive Care and that he just had to be patient and wait for him to wake from his coma. Mickey opened his eyes at exactly 1:30 pm.

“Where the hell am I?” he asked after a few minutes when he finally got his voice back. Ian jumped from his seat almost falling on the ground and ran to his side

“Mickey, you’re awake, are you ok? Does something hurt? Can you breath?” he asked so many questions, too many for Mickey to keep up.

“I don’t know, I guess my head hurts like a bitch. What happened? Why do you look like you’ve been to war?” he looked at his boyfriend’s face who was covered in stiches. Ian just smiled and then screamed for a nurse or doctor then looked back at Mickey again

“Forget about me, I’m just glad you’re awake. About what happened? Frank happened” then it all started to come back to Mickey, how he was hit in the back and he couldn’t breathe anymore and how he was unable to help Ian. It all came back, every little punch and it hurt like a motherfucker.

The doctor examined him but not before he ordered Ian to step outside. He asked Mickey a lot of questions to see if there was any memory loss. All seemed well. They settled an hour for some tests to see if there was any brain damage left. His body was covered in bruises but he didn’t seem to care, all he wanted to know was when he was getting out of here and when could Ian come back in. They eventually finished the consult and let Ian back in

“I’m so glad you’re finally awake. I called Mandy while I waited outside and she’s on her way with Iggy. I’m so sorry Mick, this happened because of me, I’m really sorry” he said and Mickey just looked at him straight

“Listen here you stupid red boy. This is not your fault, you understand? This is Frank’s fault and not yours. How the hell could this be your fault, I watched as those sons of bitches beat the crap out of you and I was just standing there unable to move. Look at the state you’re in, you look like crap” he laughed at the last part.

“Well you aren’t winning any beauty contest either” he said and crossed his arms pretending to look hurt. They both laughed. How Mickey was able to laugh after he just woke up from a coma was beyond Ian’s understanding. He was just glad he was better.

They spent the rest of the time talking then Mandy arrived with Iggy. She almost cried when she saw Mickey, that he was finally awake. He called her a pussy and she almost hit him in the arm but she reminded he was injured so she settled with flipping him off. They all laughed. Eventually the doctor kicked them all out and said Mickey had to rest before his checkup. They all agreed and left. Ian to his room and Mandy and Iggy went to eat something.

 

* * *

 

 

**A week later**

Tomorrow was the day Mickey was being released. Ian came home 4 days ago. There was still no word from Frank and that pissed Ian off. He wanted to find the bastard so bad. Everyone was looking for him, including the police. Ian was walking home from the hospital that evening when he felt someone was following him. He stopped around the corner and waited to see if that person was still coming this way. And they were.

“Well look who made it out alive from the hospital. I see that I didn’t kick your ass hard enough or is your ass used to so much violence? Isn’t that what you faggots like?” Ian froze when he heard his dad voice. Where did he come from?

“What the hell are you doing here Frank? You know the police are looking for you.”

“Beating faggots like you should be considered a National Sport. Your kind doesn’t deserve to even breathe our air. I only came to finish what I started” with that he threw the first punch. Ian wasn’t caught by surprise this time so he grabbed the man’s fist before he could hit him.

“If you think you’re getting away with this you are in for a disappointment.”

He kicked Frank in the stomach and then in his left side. That made Frank kneel but he still had the chance to hit Ian in the spot where he made the cut the other week. That hurt Ian a lot so he almost fell giving Frank time to get up. He tried to punch him again but Ian just dived directly into Frank and threw him on his back. Ian, who was now on top of Frank started to punch him like a mad man. If it wasn’t for the adrenaline he would have been tired a long time ago, maybe after the first kick. Frank tried to get up from under his son but Ian was punching him to hard. He passed out but Ian still kept punching him. Then he remembered what Fiona told him, that it wasn’t worth to go to prison for this excuse of a human being. He stopped, saw that he was out of it and called 911. A few minutes later the police arrived with an ambulance. They got Frank up, the paramedics told Ian he should come with them because his stiches were now open again. He mumbled that he will go only after he sees Frank in custody. Other than the fact that his face was all messed up Frank was able to stand up after the medics woke him. He kept swearing and calling Ian all sorts of names. Tony was the officer that was talking to Ian.

“Look Ian, even though he was on the run from the police if you state that you did this to him you still have to come with me at the station” Ian gave him a worried look. Damn you Frank.

Tony gave him a look and then said “So you are saying you were walking home when you saw him lying on the ground and when you tried to help him he just punched you and that caused your stiches to open up?” the police man asked Ian very seriously. He got the hint and said

“Yeah exactly. Then he kept saying that I attacked him. I think he was confused from the fight. It could have been anyone in this neighborhood” Tony just smiled and nodded writing it all down.

After a while, people started to leave when they saw nothing interesting was happening. They took Frank to the station and Ian agreed to go to the hospital. After he was seen by a doctor and his wound had been taken care of he asked if he could see Mickey. If he was here, why not? But it was long after visiting hours so he had to ask. The nurse was not easy to convince but eventually she gave in. She couldn’t resist a pretty red head smiling like that.

“What are you doing here firecrotch? You just left a few hours ago. Did something happen? It that your blood?” he asked as he saw the state of Ian’s shirt.

“Part of it is mine but most of it is Frank’s” he said and grinned then kissed his boyfriend who was still in shock.

“What did you do? Did you kill him? Ian I swear to God, if you go to jail for that prick” he was cut short

“Calm down Shrimp, I just kicked his ugly face until he passed out and then I called the cops. Tony even helped me give a false statement so that I wouldn’t be blamed for this. He’s not going to bother us for some time” he smiled at his cute boyfriend who was lying in his bed. Mickey smiled after hearing that

“Well I’m not thrilled that you got hurt again but at least the bastard is back in.” Ian nodded then kissed him again.

As Ian kept telling him how he punched Frank in the face, repeatedly, all Mickey could think about was how after things go wrong for a long period of time something good has to happen. Yep, this was definitely something good.


	21. – Trials, closure and happy endings –

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is why I love you so much Shrimp, you always know what to say.”

**Chapter 21 – Trials, closure and happy endings –**

 

“So, how did it go?” Mickey asked nervous when Ian arrived back home. Today was Frank’s trial but Mickey had to stay home because he wasn’t feeling well again. He still had to follow a treatment even if he got out of the hospital and the meds were kind of giving him a minor side effect that didn’t allow him to leave the bathroom for more than a few minutes. It only happened once in a while but apparently it happened today too. Thank God the treatment would end in a couple of days.

“Man it was awful, he kept yelling he was innocent, that we made this thing up and we framed him. Of course, no one believed him. Everybody knows who Frank Gallagher is. Then they presented the knife he used to cut me, his finger prints all over it. The idiot gave it to one of the other 2 guys who were here and he forgot to get rid of it, damn ape. Then there was the fact that Mandy was a witness and the fact that it was a hate crime because we are both gay. The injuries we suffered were classified as physical andpsychological harm so that’s a plus, I guess, I don’t really know about this stuff.”

“Ok it all sounds like rainbows and butterflies but I wanna know how much he got. Don’t tell me he got off easy like 8 years or some bullshit like that. He even broke parole not to mention other shit he has done over the years.” Mickey was becoming seriously impatient.

“The 2 dumbasses got 10 to 15 with the possibility of parole. They were considered accomplices. I don’t really care for them cause they’ll get killed in prison more likely cause they snitched on Frank. And Frank, well he got 30 without the possibility of parole. Seems good enough for me” he said with a grin.

“We finally got rid of him? Are you serious?” Mickey never thought hearing about the misery of others would make him feel so good.

“Yeah, we finally got rid of him. No more Frank. In 30 years he’ll be what, 80 or something? He won’t make it out alive and even if he does, what’s he going to do to us when he’s all old and unable to move?”

“So, let’s go out and celebrate” Mickey said and after a few seconds his smile turned into a confused look and then made a disgusted face.

“You sure about that Mick?” he said and laughed a little when he saw his boyfriend running to the bathroom again. He knew it wasn’t nice to laugh because he vomits everything he eats but that face he just made was pretty damn funny.

That night they stayed in, there was no point in going out. Instead, everyone came to the Milkovich house; Fiona, Lip, Debbie, Carl, even Liam was there although he didn’t knew what they were celebrating. Mandy and the rest of the Milkovich clan were there, minus Terry who was God knows where. In a normal family you don’t celebrate when one of your parents gets arrested for something like that but they made an exception. No one liked Frank, not even his own children. They had a horrible life because of him. They grew up thinking it was normal to steal, sell illegal firearms and drugs, to beat someone up just for thinking different. Now, they had to start over, to try and make something of themselves. It was going to be hard, to obey the rules all of the sudden but they had to at least try. Ian decided to move in with Mickey of course. They talked about moving out of the neighborhood but for now they were good here.  

* * *

 

**3 years later**

“So you’re telling me it’s a possibility?” Ian asked as he took a beer from the fridge and took a seat next to Mickey on the couch.

“Yeah, I gave it a thought and after some consideration and an internal battle in my mind I decided that yes, maybe I will watch Star Wars with you. I should give it another chance because the first time I couldn’t even finish it. I thought it sucked. Maybe the second time around it won’t suck as bad. Still not going to like it better than Star Trek” he took a sip from his own beer and watched as Ian laughed. He smiled at that, he loved when Ian laughed.

They spent their evening watching tv and eating very unhealthy food in their own apartment in New York. They decided to move there right after they graduated high school. They barely graduated, missing so much school and all but they did it eventually and they had Mandy to thank for that. She was also graduating this year and as promised she was going to move in with them in the summer and stay there until she had a secure job so she could find her own place.

Fiona eventually married Steve who’s actual name is Jimmy. They found out eventually that he was a car thief under a false name. At first Fiona broke up with him for lying to her but she forgave him after a while. Everyone decided to call him by his real name, Jimmy. Only Ian called him Jimmy/Steve because he knew how much he hated it.

Lip found a lot of money stashed away in the house. Frank must have put it there, no one knew about the money or where it came from but they didn’t care. He gave some to Ian and some to Fiona and with the rest he opened a business in Chicago and got to move the little ones from the southside. They all live in a 4 bedroom apartment in the city. It’s a nice apartment and the kids get to go to a good school. They are not filthy rich but they have a good life.

Iggy found a good job in the city and remodeled the house so it doesn’t look like a crack house anymore. Mandy still lives there until she finished school. The other brothers are doing fine as well. Colin got married eventually to his long term girlfriend and they are expecting their first child. Tony and Jamie are still living in that apartment they moved in 3 years ago but they like it there. Terry was still the same, always drinking and living at Sheila’s. He bothered his kids les and les for money so that was a good thing.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey Ian, wake up, you’re having a nightmare again” Mickey shook him “Wake up” he said as calmly as he could. Eventually he woke up all covered in sweat.

“Do you want to talk about it? I could bring you a glass of water” Mickey suggested

“A glass of water would be great” he nodded and got out of bed. He was a bit worried because Ian’s nightmares were a lot more often lately. He used to get them right after Frank was arrested but they stopped after a while and now they were back. He got back to the bedroom with the glass of water and gave it to Ian who drank it without breathing.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Ian nodded

“Yeah, just another nightmare. I don’t know why I keep having them. It’s not like he can hurt me anymore but sometimes I just think about him before I fall asleep, about what life used to be and it just gives me the chills.”

“Don’t think about him Ian, he’s not going to hurt you again. Don’t lose sleep because of him because you already lost a lot of things” he kissed the top of his head and gave him a hug.

“The thing is I keep thinking that life is too good, you know? We never had it good and all of the sudden he have a normal life, with normal jobs, actually good jobs and it scares me”

“Why?” Mickey asked as he took his hand

“Because of what you used to say, when things go right for a long time something bad always has to happen. What if something bad is going to happen and ruins all this” Mickey just smiled at his worried red head, caressed his face and said

“Ian, something bad always happens because you can’t have a perfect life without some incidents now and then. Those incidents remind you that you’re still alive. That doesn’t mean things won’t get better again. We’ve been through hell and back and we still survived. My uncle used to say “the worst is yet to come” and I never understood what he meant until shit started to happen to me. What I’m trying to say is that things go wrong sometimes and sometimes things will keep going wrong for some time but we can’t lose hope. Even if after going through hell worst things keep on coming we should know good ones will come too eventually. We know that better than most people” he laughed at the last part and somehow Mickey’s little speech made Ian feel a lot better.

“This is why I love you so much Shrimp, you always know what to say.” Ian smiled at the man next to him

“I love you too firecrotch. Now try and get some sleep because you won’t be able to wake up in the morning”

“Yes, mom” Ian mocked and Mickey threw his pillow at him. They laughed for a bit and eventually went back to sleep.

After that night Ian never had a nightmare about Frank again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess this is it :D hope you enjoyed it :D I hope it didn't suck cause I'm really bad at endings :)) i think I wrote this chapter like a thousand times and then deleted it again :))  
> Thank you all for the Kudos and comments :D 
> 
> Thanks again :D  
> I'm writing a new fic these days so see you soon (is that the correct way to say it? see you soon? cause we don't actually see each other :)) ) oh I'm talking nonsense again :)) sorry :))


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